


Blood and Sand

by cheshire6845



Series: Gods of the Arena [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spartacus (TV) Fusion, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/F, Fight Scenes, Gladiators, Slavery, Supporting Character Death, The Champion, the savior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:08:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 45,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25334389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshire6845/pseuds/cheshire6845
Summary: A/U The Savior is a slave forced into the role of fighting as a gladiator for the House of Hearts. The odds are against her survival as she will have to win in the arena, navigate Cora's schemes, outlast a general's vengeance, and not be killed out of spite by the current House of Hearts Champion - Regina the Undefeated.  This story follows the major plot points of Starz Spartacus with some twists along the way.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Series: Gods of the Arena [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1855387
Comments: 120
Kudos: 127





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is violent. I mean, it's about gladiators so there's definitely blood spilled. There will eventually be some very dubious consent which I will include a warning for at the beginning of the chapter and which will also probably push this up to E rating at that time. Spartacus: Blood and Sand was the major inspiration for this but I also drew from Game of Thrones, Snow White and the Huntsman, Legend of the Seeker, oh and Gladiator. There will be several supporting character deaths. You have been warned. I will update regularly and I hope you enjoy.

**The Beginning of the End**

Water poured into the ship as it crashed through the waves. The slaves below, hanging by their wrists, were damn near drowned. The only reason their heads were not held under the water was because they were of some value once they reached the market. Except for one.

The blonde that defied the Realm; the so-called Savior that had refused to fight once recruited. The coward. She was to be executed in the arena ad gladium, a spectacle for all to see. The Realm wanted her humiliation to be known far and wide. She would be the example set for all those that refused to serve.

For all intents and purposes, she was already dead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They gave her a rusted sword with no edge on the blade. A kick to her back made her stumble forwards, almost falling to the ground as she entered the arena. The jeers of the crowd as well as rotten fruit rained down on her as she walked to the middle of the arena. The noise of the crowd dimmed to a dull roar as she stared at the Realm’s finest sitting in the gallery. She saw the general that had come into her village and demanded her people’s service. He laughed at her, sitting back to drink his wine.

The editor of the games stood and the crowd quieted. He bespoke of the honor of military service; he lauded the heroes of the battlefield. Then he pointed at her and branded her a coward, claimed she had run from battle, cowered underneath the bodies of brave soldiers, and soiled herself when dragged into the sun. Because she was such a blight against the Realm, because her existence stained the very nature of their world, because she defied her betters, her sentence was death.

The gates at the opposite end of the arena opened and four gladiators entered to the cheers and roar of the crowd. In short order, they surrounded her. She eyed them and their weapons. Sword and shield. Net and spear. Battle axe. The lone woman handled two swords. They were all laughing at her, promising to fuck her corpse as the editor droned on. Then silence fell; her attention went to the royal box. She saw the general, whose face she had spat on, stand. He lifted his fist in the air, sneered at her, and shouted, “Begin.”

A sword sliced across her back before she even understood the command. She dodged backwards, narrowly missing the net that was grabbing at her feet. Her scream of pain was silenced when the shield crashed into her jaw, followed by a knee to her chest as she fell. She hit the ground hard, air pushing from her lungs. Her eyes focused just in time to see the axe falling straight for her; she rolled to the side. The spear sliced across her rib cage and a booted foot stomped her thigh.

The gladiators played to the crowd as she lay gasping. Clearly, they had been told to draw out her death. Anything too quick would not be memorable. The coward pushed up to her knees, then rolled to the side just as the net was thrown at her head. She came up throwing sand into the eyes of the brute with the battle axe. He stumbled backwards, wiping at his face, and he learned the hard way that even a dull sword can be thrust through a chest if used with enough force.

He fell backwards; she didn’t bother trying to pull the sword free. She swiped up the axe from his dying grip and spun in time to catch the blades of two swords on the handle. She locked-in against the fighter for a brief second, then slammed her leg upwards into the woman’s crotch. The gladiator staggered in shock and the blonde spun away, ripping one of the swords free from her grasp, striking the handle of the axe against her temple.

The blonde spun again and the spear sliced open her thigh as it flew past her, embedding in the ground where she had been moments before. She hefted the axe, swinging it wide behind her, right into the neck of the fighter with the shield. She spun and followed him to the ground, rolling over him and coming up with his sword in hand.

She stomped on the spear beside her, breaking it in two. The remaining two gladiators spread apart, working together like they should have done from the start. The woman had both her swords in hand and the man hefted the bloodied axe, pulled straight from his fallen ally. The blonde backed up, waiting for them to make a move. The crowd was roaring.

It happened quickly. They charged at the same time. The blonde ducked, sliced at the woman’s knee, slid up behind her, and slung her around right into the path of the swinging axe. As the axe blade sunk into her neck, the blonde pushed the body forward, knocking him off balance. It was all the opening she needed as she brought her sword down, piercing straight through his collarbone and sinking her blade into his heart.

She slowly straightened, standing alone above the bodies of four gladiators. The crowd exploded and chants of life began to sound around the arena. The crowd in the gallery looked disgusted, the general in particular was apoplectic, but they had lost the crowd. The masses now wanted her to be rewarded for living against the odds.

The blonde watched as one older woman leaned forward from the second row. She spoke to the editor for several minutes, he nodded along and looked to the general apologetically before standing. The crowd continued to chant, slowly quieting at the editor’s control.

He gestured at the blonde. “Under the shadow of death, this cowardly dog has proven herself in the arena. Perhaps she can be redeemed. Only time will tell. Today, we will be merciful and grant her life.” The crowd roared and he let them. “Tomorrow-!”

The crowd quieted, wanting to know more of her fate.

“Tomorrow,” the editor repeated, “she will be taken to the House of Hearts.” Sounds of astonishment echoed from the crowd. “Should she survive, we may yet see her on the sands again.”


	2. Chapter 2

They marched her and a string of five other slaves into an open square. A dozen or so men and women, clearly fighters all, jeered their arrival. The blonde could hear them placing bets; it seemed the odds of her survival were still considered quite low. She ignored them and tried to look around her new surroundings.

Her eyes still burned from the cleaning powder they had thrown on her before dousing her with water, but the courtyard they stood in was clearly a slaves only area. A balcony overlooked it leading to the proper areas of the castle. The dirt yard was surrounded on three sides with stone wall and the fourth was open sky and a sheer cliff face. She was curious to see how far the drop was off the cliff; if it overlooked water, she might chance the jump.

The crack of a whip drew her attention back to her audience. A tall, broad shouldered blonde man strode down their line. His chest was covered with leather armor and a jagged scar that started at his neck disappeared beneath the chest plate. Well-muscled arms flexed and bunched as he assessed his new recruits. He did not seem impressed with what he saw. He paused in front of her, glanced down at the shackles still adorning her wrists. “Are you going to be a problem?”

It hadn’t escaped her notice that she had been the only one of the six to still be restrained. A bandage wrapped around the slash on her back; she assumed her jaw was a dark bruise, and fresh cuts along her ribs and thigh were clearly visible. She supposed it made for a hell of a first impression; she decided her appearance would continue to speak for her and remained silent.

The trainer’s blue eyes glittered in the sun as he squared up to her; he stood almost a head taller than her but she stared straight ahead resolutely. She saw his hand ball into a fist and tightened her abdominals, but when he drove the punch straight into her midsection, it still staggered her. She almost fell over as the chains between her ankles snapped taut. She heard the other fighters all laughing.

“Charming.” A woman’s voice called from the balcony.

“Get back in line,” Charming snarled at the blonde before addressing his domina. “Yes, Countess.”

The blonde carefully straightened and took the two steps needed to bring herself even with the others. She glanced up and caught the older woman that had addressed the trainer, staring at her. The blonde recognized her from the gallery; she was the one that had spoken to the editor.

The woman looked away and addressed Charming again. “Educate them.”

“You six pathetic souls have found yourselves to be most fortunate, for you have been brought into the House of Hearts.” The fighters all standing around cheered. Charming continued, “The fighters you see standing in front of you are the finest gladiators in the Enchanted Forest.” Another grunting cheer. He raised his hand towards the woman on the balcony. “Owned and trained by the finest domina in the realm – Countess Cora, the Queen of Hearts!”

The gladiators all cheered again and the blonde found herself eyeing the lady curiously as Charming droned on about the virtues of being a gladiator. More than once, the woman stared back at the blonde. The whip snapped again and her eyes met Charming’s.

“Over the next three days, you will be tested,” he said, prowling before them. “If you prove yourself worthy, you may live long enough to become a gladiator. A member of the sacred brotherhood.” He stopped in front of her. “Fail and you will die where you stand or when you are sent to the mines.”

She got the message. Refusing to fight, refusing to engage was no longer an option. She’d rather die with a sword in her hand than in the muddy bowels of a mountain. Charming’s mouth twisted into a sneer as she lowered her gaze. They now had an understanding.

“Tell them who she is,” Cora instructed from her perch.

Immediately, an interested murmur swept through the gathered gladiators. Inwardly, the blonde sighed. No good could come from everyone knowing about her achievements in the arena. It would only make her life more difficult in the days to come.

Charming stepped back and brandished the handle of the whip in her direction. “They call her, the Savior.”

An expected chuckle rose up. A dark-haired gladiator with striking blue eyes and his hands hooked into his belt laughed the hardest. “I’ll let the lass save me anytime she wants.”

More laughs; the blonde grit her teeth.

“She was recruited into the Realm’s service,” Charming continued, “but when it came time to fight, she fled back to her village and hid like the coward she is.” He gave her a hard look. “And when the fight came to her village, she hid again…beneath the bodies of the fallen.”

The chuckles didn’t come that time. The expressions now were harder, already hating her.

“Once captured, she was sentenced to die in the arena. Four gladiators faced her upon the sands.” With a bit of theatrical pause, Charming continued, “Four gladiators fell beneath her sword. It would seem that even a cowardly dog will fight back when cornered.”

The murmur this time seemed to be a bit more assessing. She thought that perhaps a story of surviving four against one would garner her some respite. She should have known Charming would destroy it.

“A guaranteed outcome,” Charming said, “when one considers the four gladiators were from George’s stable.”

Jeers immediately rose up and any hint of respect for her skills was rejected. She bristled at the notion that she was without skill. They’d almost killed her; if they’d worked together from the start, they would have. And yet, here she stood. They were dead; she was alive. It meant something.

Charming caught her expression. “Hmm, she disagrees.”

“If she had faced any gladiator from this house, her corpse would already be rotting,” Cora said and was greeted with cheers from her fighters.

Charming glanced up to the balcony. “She already considers herself worthy of the title.” He coiled the whip around his arm. “A demonstration, perhaps?”

Cora agreed. “Champion. Step forward.”

All the gladiators ooohed and awed as a figure that had been hidden by shadows stepped forward. The blonde watched as the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen sauntered out from beneath the balcony. She had short dark hair with deeply tanned skin, a cloth and leather harness covered her chest and back, chiseled abs shown above a leather belt and skirted leather hangings. Simple boots wrapped halfway up her calves as she prowled closer.

Dark, brown eyes traveled lazily over the blonde, taking her in from head to toe as Charming removed the restraints. An indented scar above the Champion’s lip pulled as she scoffed, “A scared rabbit ready to run,” she gave the blonde her back and looked up to the balcony, “she’s nothing.”

A wooden sword landed at the blonde’s feet; a young boy handed a similar one to the Champion. She held it lazily at her side, bored with her opponent before they’d even begun.

“Pick it up,” Charming instructed. He gestured towards the brunette Champion and stepped back. “Show us what you _think_ you can do.”

The beating that commenced was an education.

The blonde could find no advantage. Her every strike was blocked, parried, and used to the Champion’s advantage. The brunette was like a snake, quick, elusive, and deadly. She sent the Savior to her knees with a flurry of quick strikes then a kick to the legs.

Charming pointed out loudly that if that happened in the arena, she’d be dead.

She tried charging while the Champion had her back turned. A swift dodge and then a brutal slam across the back had the blonde eating dirt again.

“Allow advantage to your back and you are dead.”

The Savior quickly regained her feet. She managed to make the Champion react and block several powerful slashes. Then the Champion caught her by the wrist; the Savior returned the favor and they were locked in a battle of muscle and will. The blonde strained, surprised by the Champion’s brute strength. The brown eyes flashed in challenge then amusement before the Champion slammed her forehead against the bridge of her opponent’s nose. She then laughed as her knee pounded into the blonde’s midsection, quickly throwing her over her shoulder and to the ground again.

“Become entangled with a more powerful opponent and you are dead.”

The blonde rolled over on the ground, gasping for breath. Her grip tightened on the wooden sword as she pushed herself up. The Champion had once again turned her back on her opponent. The lack of respect and the utter frustration made the blonde stand and hurl her sword at the brunette’s head. With a quickness borne of many battles, the Champion pivoted and easily knocked the sword away.

“Throw away your weapon in the arena, and you are dead.”

The Champion was no longer amused. She did not appreciate having swords hurled at her, practice or not. It showed a lack of respect. She took two quick strides and leapt, planting both feet straight into the blonde’s chest. The Savior flew backwards from the blow landing hard and before she could blink, the Champion was standing over her. She wrapped her hand in the blonde’s hair and drug her back out to the middle of the yard.

The Savior choked as she was hauled halfway to her feet with the blade of the Champion’s wooden sword smashed against her throat. Charming strode into her reddening vision. As she continued to choke against the Champion’s sword, he explained how she could signal a sign of surrender by holding up two fingers.

“Beg for your life, Savior,” he said.

The hand fisted in her hair twisted tighter; the sword against her throat pressed harder. The Savior curled her hands into fists.

Charming looked at the Champion. “Break her neck.”

The Champion tensed her muscles and shifted her hold, preparing to make the final kill-

“Regina.”

The Champion and Charming both stilled and obediently looked up to the balcony.

“Let her live,” Cora instructed.

“Yes, Domina,” the Champion answered, releasing the blonde to fall to the ground. “Worthless.”

When the Savior finally managed to stop coughing and push herself back up. She found Cora watching her once again. The woman had saved her life twice now, and she didn’t know why. She did know that being in debt to the Queen of Hearts was no place she wanted to be. The crack of the whip, a sound she already hated, brought her staggering back to the line with the other recruits, and their descent into hell continued.


	3. Chapter 3

She didn’t know that she would call what she went through for the next three days training. It was more simply put just survival. A test of fortitude and stamina more than skill. They were allowed very little sleep and even less food. They were walked around the yard at night carrying boulders for two hours and then heavy wooden beams across their shoulders for another two hours. During the day, they fought against the gladiators. The fights were little more than beat downs as the trained warriors pointed out all their weaknesses; Charming was always watching, happy to point out their death yet again had they been in the arena.

One of their number fell during the first night; a second collapsed under the weight of the beam the second night. On their third night, several of the gladiators hung around to watch as they stumbled around the yard carrying their burdens. Charming stood in the middle of the yard, encouraging them, sometimes with his whip, sometimes with promises of how death would be less painful.

Her muscles trembled and ached; her fingers digging into the boulder as much as possible to maintain her grip on it. She preferred the beam to the boulder. Of the four of them that remained, the two men seemed to be faring worse. The other woman, a warrior from the far East with a slim build and long dark hair that she wore pulled back in braids, never seemed to falter. The Savior wondered how she managed but she was a woman of few words. She’d barely gotten the woman’s name – Mulan.

As the hour began to grow late, the blonde expected the gladiators’ numbers to dwindle, but instead, more of them lingered. It was the first time she’d seen the Champion remain and show interest. Even Cora appeared on the balcony and that’s when she knew something was coming. It was as though there was a scent in the air, a scent of death, and the jackals were circling.

Charming’s whip cracked through the air. They stopped their never-ending march, breathing heavily, waiting for his command. He snapped out the order. “Beams!”

She dropped her boulder, careful to miss her feet. She had the misfortune to be standing closest to the house; the gladiators were less than a few feet from her. She glanced up and saw the Champion watching her as she stood flanked on each side by one of the male fighters. The trio eyed her hungrily but she found she was too tired to care much as she staggered towards the pile of beams.

It took her two tries but she got the beam settled across her shoulders and began pacing herself behind Mulan. It was as she made the turn that she began to realize the jeers and Charming’s singular brand of encouragement were not directed at the group but at a singular individual. She didn’t dare stop moving but her eyes lifted to see that one of the men, a fellow named Frederick, couldn’t seem to lift his beam up to his shoulders.

The gladiators didn’t move into the yard, but she heard them, some laughing, some swearing that they had bet on him and he’d better get that fucking beam picked up. As she circled past, she noticed Charming was no longer berating the man, instead he was silent, standing over him, as Frederick knelt in the dirt trying repeatedly to lift the beam. When it tumbled again from his trembling grasp, Charming shook his head and walked away.

He looked up to the balcony. “I can do nothing with him.”

Cora nodded. “Send him to the mines.”

Guards immediately moved in as Frederick began wailing, scrambling to lift the beam, but he was soon easily dragged away from the yard. The gladiators laughed and jeered; money exchanged hands. Charming cracked his whip. “Cease.”

She threw her beam back from her shoulders, slowly straightening, surprised and wary at this change of events. The lone man left, an archer of some sort if she heard him correctly before, appeared nervous. There’d been rumors that there would be a test of some sort to pass, she assumed this was it. Charming corralled them into a line in the middle of the yard then looked up to the balcony.

“You’ve done well,” Cora addressed them. “You’ve outlasted your peers. Now it’s time to face your betters.” She braced herself against the railing. “The next three minutes of your pathetic lives will be the most important three minutes of your existence. You will fight against one of my gladiators. Survive for three minutes and you will be given a chance to earn the title of gladiator for yourself.”

There was a low rumbling sound as the gladiators pounded the wood around them with their fists and feet. Cora looked down proudly at her fighters. “Charming, assign them their opponents.”

“Yes, Domina.” Charming made a show of looking over the gladiators. “Merida, take Robin.” A chorus of chuckles sounded as a fiery red-head cursed loudly and pushed her way out from the back of the crowd. “Graham, fight Mulan.” The scruffy haired man that had been leaning against the post next to the Champion lazily pushed away from it and strode out into the yard. “Jones, you get the Savior.”

There was a raucous cheer and it was the first time she’d seen the Champion come close to smiling as the dark-haired man beside her held his arms out wide as he stepped out. He accepted the sword that was handed to him as he swaggered to stand in front of the Savior. “Normally,” he checked his thumb against the edge of the blade, “I’d prefer to do more enjoyable activities with a woman on her back.”

“I’m not on my back,” she growled, hefting the weight of a real blade in her hand. It sucked that her muscles were already trembling.

“Not yet.” He winked at her. “Give it a second.”

She dared a glance up and saw Cora give Charming the nod. She had a fraction of a second start on the man called Jones, and she lunged at him. He easily blocked her attack, stepping back with a laugh. Their swords clashed twice more before he casually flicked his blade twice around hers and hooked it out of her hand. She charged at his side and found herself flying over his shoulder. Luckily, she landed close to her sword and got it back in her grasp just as she felt his hand grab her by the ankle and pull her back.

She slashed sloppily but close enough to make him release her and dodge back. He stepped back again, dodging out of the way of Mulan and Graham, battling past them, giving the Savior enough time to get back on her feet. He grinned and advanced on her, striking high and then low. She barely had time to block, constantly retreating. He laughed and spun, his blade coming across her middle, the hilts locking together.

“Good form,” he smirked and caught her behind the knee when she tried to raise it. “Not good enough.” He knocked her into the dirt again. “A word of warning, Savior.” He kicked her in the thigh as she tried to scramble away. “When I jab you with my sword, you’ll feel it.”

She rolled out of the way just as his sword skewered the dirt where she’d been seconds before. She growled and kicked out at his knee, catching him off balance and managing to tumble him over sideways. “Keep your fucking sword to yourself!”

They both scrambled up, facing off. The playful look in his crystal blue eyes had gone cold, the smirk gone, and she knew she was facing a killer. He came at her with a flurry of strikes. His blade sliced across her upper arm, her opposite thigh, then she barely blocked a thrust for her chest. She spun away from him, bringing her sword back up to guard. He spun again, his blade clashing against hers, skittering down it as he closed the distance between them.

The whip cracked and Charming bellowed, “Cease!”

Jones’ face was right in hers, their blades locked together between them. She could feel his strength pushing against her trembling arms. His gaze dropped to her mouth, licking his lips, and then like a switch, he smirked. He pushed off of her and stepped back, the dead look in his eyes gone with a blink. “I guess you get to live another day, Savior.”

And with another few steps backwards, he handed off his sword and rejoined the other gladiators in celebration. She caught the Champion’s gaze lingering on her before she too turned away, shoving Graham out of her way.

“Congratulations,” Charming said, coiling his whip as he looked over his three new fighters. “You may yet get to die in the arena.” He frowned at Robin, on his knees, holding a hand over a gash along his ribs. Mulan thumbed away a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth. “See yourselves to the healer. We begin training at first light.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For the next month, the blonde accrued more injuries then she ever had in her entire life combined. She also learned to fight with more precision, lethality, and disregard than she ever had in her life. Disregard for her own life as well as her opponent’s. On more than one occasion, she’d been chastised for her recklessness.

“Again,” Charming demanded.

Mulan pulled her to her feet and pushed the practice sword hard into her chest. “Ignore them.”

“Easier said than done,” the Savior muttered, taking her stance. Her gaze flicked to beyond Mulan’s shoulder and found the Champion watching her. Someone was always watching her. The Champion. Jones. Charming. The limping imp that no one trusted. Every time she fell, someone’s gaze was upon her. Each time she knocked an opponent to the ground, a comment was made about what she could have done better. She’d even caught Cora watching her several times.

She chafed under the strain.

Mulan attacked and for a few minutes, the Savior was able to forget her troubles as they engaged in the fight. They were both learning new weapons, new fighting styles. It was crucial in the arena to be lethal with anything. The blonde preferred a sword and shield, but wielding two swords as the Champion did was quickly growing on her.

Charming’s whip cracked through the air and all the training gladiators paused in their actions. He wound the whip. “Take your mid-day break.”

A general grumbling erupted as everyone relaxed and moved towards the shaded areas for food and water.

“Charming,” Cora called from the balcony, immediately gaining everyone’s attention. “Have the Savior brought to me.”

Two guards immediately moved away from the walls, flanking the blonde. She heard Jones chuckle but as she was led away, she noticed Regina’s narrowed gaze locked on her. The dark eyes followed her across the square and she wondered what that was about.

Cora was seated behind a desk when the blonde was brought before her. The older woman assessed her for a moment before waving the guards away. Once they were alone, she asked, “Do you want to die, Savior?”

The blonde frowned. She wasn’t sure what she had expected but it hadn’t been that. She shook her head. “No, Countess.”

Cora’s well-manicured fingers drummed on the desk. “Are you sure about that?” She leaned back in her high-backed chair. “I’ve watched a lot of gladiators over the years. I have an eye for this sort of thing. You’re reckless but not without skill. You attack when you should retreat. You do things you know you shouldn’t. Actions like that are a good way to get killed.”

“I have no wish to die.”

“Then why do you live?” Cora stood and circled the desk. “Hmm? What drives the Savior?”

The blonde looked away, not wanting to answer.

“The entire Forest wants you to die, Savior.” At the blonde’s startled look, she nodded. “Oh, yes. They’re all betting on how long you’ll last. If what the imp tells me is true, the majority of my gladiators don’t expect you to make it past the first match.” She settled back against the desk. “They are killers all. They know death; they court it. They _fuck_ it. They know a dead woman walking when they see it, and you…” she shook her head.

“I’m not dead yet.”

“Good, glad to hear it, because I am your only ally.” She gestured grandly. “I want you to live. Purchasing you cost me quite a bit of gold and I’d like to see my investment returned.” Cora clapped her hands together. “So. Tell me. What motivates you and how can I help?”

The Savior considered her for a long moment. There was one thing she wanted, _needed_ to know. It was the one thought that focused her. It kept her moving when the beam across her back had burned her shoulders and the boulder she’d carried had felt like it was tearing muscles. The one thought made her get to her feet when she was thrown to the ground time and time again. It was her only thought.

“I have a son.” She cleared her throat. “He was taken from me when…”

“When you were captured,” Cora finished for her. The blonde nodded. “How old is he?”

“Nine, this summer.”

“And his name?”

She had to swallow hard. “Henry.”

Cora hummed as she made a note on a scroll. “And he was alive when you last saw him?”

“Yes.”

“And you, what? Want to see him again?”

It was becoming difficult to breathe. “I just want to know if he’s alive.”

Cora nodded serenely. “I understand. I, too, am a mother, after all. I know the worries we carry for our children. No matter how old they are.” She exhaled, glancing in the direction of the training yard. “I’ll make you a deal, Savior. Survive your first match, swear your loyalty to me, and I’ll do everything within my power to find your boy.”

The Savior’s head snapped up. “What?”

“I’m not promising anything,” Cora said, holding a finger up. “It may be an impossible task, but I give you my word, that I will try. Provided, of course, that you stay alive.”

The blonde was already nodding. “I will.”

“That means winning your fights,” Cora pointed out.

For the first time since she arrived, the blonde felt a smirk. “You have no idea what I am capable of; I will win my fights.”

“Then I will try to find Henry.” She lifted a hand and signaled the guards to collect the fighter before her. “In the meantime, try not to die.”

The Savior was still lost in amazement as the guards escorted her back to the training area. As she walked back through the gates, she noticed the Champion leaning against the wall, watching her. She nodded respectfully and kept walking.

“You had an audience with the countess,” Regina said, standing away from the wall.

The blonde stopped and turned around to face the Champion. It was the first time the woman had spoken to her outside of their fight. “Yes.”

The brunette’s eyes were dark as she took a step closer. “Did she promise you anything?” She moved out of the shadows. “Make a deal with you, perhaps?”

“Maybe,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “What’s it to you?”

Regina’s mouth twisted into a smirk, highlighting the scar above her upper lip. She stood close enough her chest brushed against folded arms. “A word of warning, Savior.” She moved to the side, bumping her arm. “Only a fool would believe Cora’s promises.”

The blonde exhaled shakily. “She’s the only hope I have.”

A flicker of emotion, pain, sympathy, sadness maybe, flickered in the brunette’s gaze, and with a blink it was gone. She scoffed and shook her head. “Then you’re not only a fool; you’re a damned fool.” She sauntered away. “If you have any luck at all, you’ll get killed in your first fight.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Savior’s first fight was incredibly short. She’d been selected to fight before the mid-day main event. The arena was beginning to fill; a large portion of the crowd showing up in time for her fight. Apparently, there was some interest in seeing her death. She’d walked out on the sands first. The noise was a mix of booing, cheering, and catcalls. She was pleasantly surprised that no food had been thrown.

As soon as she saw her opponent, she knew she’d win. He was no warrior. She gave him credit for not appearing scared or nervous, but everything about him gave away his lack of skill. In the few short minutes that they stood in front of the editor, he relentlessly shifted his weight, adjusting his shield and the armor over his one shoulder. Her eyes flicked down and saw he had a white-knuckle grip on the sword. They weren’t even fighting yet.

The editor of the games raised his hand and dropped it. “Begin.”

The Savior’s opponent turned immediately and tried to bull rush the blonde. She spun out of the way, turning until she was behind him, and thrust her sword straight into his back. He dropped to his knees, stunning the crowd. There was a thud as he fell face first into the dirt. The fight had lasted less than twenty seconds. The hush that fell over the arena was unnatural for such a space. The Savior looked to the editor who was forced to announce her as the winner. No one cheered and he rushed into announcing the next event.

Charming stood, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for her at the gates as she walked out of the arena. “You killed him too quickly.”

It was official. She couldn’t win with these people. “I am required to kill, so I kill.”

“If you’re going to kill that quickly, embrace it,” Ruby offered as she walked up. “Draw the crowd into how fast you make the kill.” She walked past the blonde towards the gates. “Make them think the victory is theirs.”

The blonde frowned at her back and watched as the tall brunette strutted out into the arena, drawing immediate cheers as she raised her arms in greeting. “She doesn’t have any weapons.”

Charming chuckled. “She _is_ the weapon.” He gestured towards the gate. “Stay and watch, maybe you’ll learn something.”

That evening, sprawled throughout a rented bath house, the gladiators of the House of Hearts luxuriated in their successes. The Savior sat against the wall, sipping wine and soaking in the heated water. Gladiators were not shy about their bodies nor their vices. A select number of men and women had been allowed in to join the gladiators in their revelry, and the Savior’s fellow fighters were making good use of them.

“You know they paid to be in here, right?” Robin pointed out, taking the corner seat next to the blonde.

“What?” she asked, turning to eye him as he dipped his legs into the pool. He had a nasty bruise on his thigh and his knee was swollen. His upper right arm was wrapped with a bit of blood seeping through the bandage.

He nodded, grimacing as he straightened his leg. “Oh, yes. Having sex with a gladiator is quite the achievement.” He shrugged at their lack of company. “Guess we’ll have to win a few more fights before we are deemed worthy.”

The Savior was horrified. “And we’ll be expected to…”

Robin chuckled. “Consider it a perk of the job.”

She looked around the room with a new eye and saw what Robin meant. Killian had two women draped all over him, his hips rocking into one while the other kissed and stroked his chest. Ruby was astride a young man laid out at the edge of the pool, riding him like he was a prized steed. Graham was wrapped around a man equally as naked as he was in the corner, and there was a threesome mixed in with another couple at the opposite end of the pool. The Savior eased herself out of the water and sat on the edge, wrapping herself in a towel. She looked around again and noticed a couple of people missing. “Where’s Mulan?”

“Oh, she stayed back at the barracks,” he said, noticing a dark-haired woman eyeing him from across the room. “She’s probably meditating or something.”

“And Regina?”

Robin chuckled. “She’s a Champion; she won’t be on display at something as cheap as this.” He got to his feet. “I imagine she’s spending her time at a more private affair, taking some young prince’s virtue or something. And speaking of virtue…”

The blonde watched as the dark-haired woman approached Robin, her hand trailing down his chest as she said hello. He seemed happy enough with the attention as they moved away, him guiding her towards an unoccupied bench.

Left alone, she suddenly felt more vulnerable than when she had been standing on the sands of the arena with a dulled sword. As she glanced around, Ruby and Killian both caught her eye and beckoned for her to join them. She shook her head and instead made her way towards the exit, hoping that the changing area would be guest free. Oddly enough as she slipped into the shadows, she found herself wondering about the Champion and whether or not she was enjoying herself the way the other gladiators were.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On their first night back, the three newly minted fighters were branded with Cora’s sigil and given an oath to swear their fealty to her in exchange for training, food and shelter. As soon as the simple ceremony was completed, Mulan, Robin, and the Savior were officially considered gladiators. A casket of wine was cracked open in celebration as the other gladiators welcomed them to the ranks.

After the fourth good-natured slap against her fresh brand, the Savior extricated herself and her throbbing arm from the crowd. She stepped into the cool night air of the training square, flexing her fist in a futile effort to relieve the pain.

“Stings, doesn’t it?”

The blonde spun on her heel at the unexpected voice. She narrowed her eyes when the imp limped out of the shadows. “What do you want?” She didn’t know his story but she knew no one liked him. He seemed to always be skulking about.

“To offer this.” With a dramatic wave of his hand, he produced a small jar. A thick liquid coated the insides of it.

She leaned away from him. “What is it?”

“Honey.” He pointed at her arm. “It’ll help with the burn.”

“Uh huh,” she eyed him carefully, “and why are you offering it to me?”

“Because it only works on fresh burns, and you have one, do you not?” His eyes glittered in the moonlight.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Rumplestiltskin.” He gave her a flourished mock bow. “And you’re the Savior.”

“That’s not my name.”

“I know,” he said simply, limping closer to her. “Everyone knows.” He offered the jar again. “No one cares.”

She glanced down at it. “But you care?”

“Only a little,” he scoffed with a laugh. “You see, with my limited mobility, I have to make use of other assets. I can use my head for things other than bashing in people’s faces. I take bets to pass the time, control the books.” He circled behind her, arriving at her opposite shoulder. “There’s quite a bit of gold riding on your untimely death. It’s expected to happen sooner rather than later. I prefer later.” He held the honey up in front of her. “More gold in my pocket if you make it past three fights.”

This time, she plucked the jar from his hand. “This doesn’t mean that I trust you.”

“Smart girl,” he said. “They won’t make it easy for you.” He gestured down at his maimed leg. “I should know.”

She scoffed. “One of the gladiators here did that to you over a bet?”

“ _Not_ over a bet.” He glanced past her shoulder, a sneer twisting his lip before he spun on his heel and disappeared back into the shadows.

The blonde turned and looked behind her. Regina stood near the door of her private cell, a perk of being Champion, watching. The Savior waited, expected a comment, a warning of some sort, but the Champion simply turned away and entered her quarters, closing the door behind her.

The blonde looked down at the small jar of honey. If it worked, she’d share it with Mulan.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the Champion to show how good she is!   
> A shout out to GoT for the Sand Snakes!

Days blurred one into another. Training continued, bodies hardened, and the Savior found herself looking forward to their next official fight if only to break up the monotony. She sat at a table with Mulan and a gladiator named Gideon as their mid-day break was quickly coming to an end. She rubbed at the newly formed calluses on her hand. She’d always been a fighter and hard worker, but even she would admit her muscles were leaner and harder now then they’d ever been.

Charming stepped into the shaded area. “Listen up.” He shook out a roll of parchment, gaining everyone’s attention. “We have games in three days time. I have your matches.”

She, like everyone else, listened closely. Robin had pretty much stayed where he was in the rankings with a morning fight. Mulan moved up in the world and would be fighting in the paired event; she and Merida would be chained together to fight against an opponent. Mulan gave no reaction to the news but Merida cuffed her on the shoulder, seemingly pleased.

“Savior, you’ll be fighting in the beast round right before mid-day break,” Charming said. “Train with Ruby until we leave and maybe you’ll survive.”

The blonde caught eyes with Ruby who smirked at her. Charming read off a few more matches. Gideon would fight after mid-day; Graham and Jones both had fights in the evening.

“And for the Primus,” Charming said, “our Champion will fight…the Sand Snakes.”

No one cheered. The Savior glanced around; usually the gladiators cheered for the Champion’s fights, especially when she got the high honor of fighting in the Primus. Even Charming didn’t look happy as he rolled the parchment back up. She glanced at Regina who remained leaning against the back wall, her expression revealing nothing.

“We’ve got two days to practice,” Charming said. “Your mid-day break is over.”

There was a clattering of benches scraping the ground as everyone stood up and began moving. The Savior saw Graham and Jones approach Regina; she listened for a moment before flicking her hand up. Both men cowed slightly, backing off as she moved away.

“Worry about your own fight, Savior.” Ruby cuffed her on the back of the head. “Let’s go.”

Right before the blonde moved to follow her, she saw Rumple emerge from the darkened area leading to the stairs. A chill ran down her spine at his expression and she hurried to leave before he noticed her.

“Who the hell are the Sand Snakes?” she asked, following Ruby to the far corner of the training yard. “And why is everyone so afraid of them?”

“No one is afraid of them.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, then why is everyone but the damn imp so grim about Regina fighting them?”

Ruby spun on her heel, abruptly facing the blonde. “What do you mean by that?”

“By what?”

“Rumple,” Ruby hissed. “The imp. Why did you bring him up?”

She chucked her thumb back towards the tables. “He was in there staring after Regina, grinning.”

“That bastard,” Ruby growled. “He probably arranged the whole damn thing somehow.” She shook her head. “Between him and Cora, they’re trying to get Regina killed.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”

“What would you call it when you set up a Championship fight that’s going to be three against one?” Ruby picked up two practice swords and shoved them at the blonde’s chest. “And unlike the four imbeciles you fought, the Sand Snakes work together to make their kill.”

The Savior looked across the yard and saw Regina and Charming walking together, deep in conversation. She had guessed that Regina and Rumple had some sort of bad blood between them, but that didn’t explain why Cora would want her Champion put in an unfair fight. She turned back to Ruby, intending to ask, and forgot all about Regina’s problems.

She had her own.

Ruby’s eyes had turned into the yellow eyes of the wolf. Her hands elongated, nails lengthening into sharp claws. Her voice dropped several octaves when she spoke. “Don’t worry about the Champion, Savior. You probably won’t live long enough to see her fight.”

The blonde took a step back; the wooden practice swords in her hands suddenly feeling like the ineffective toys of a child. At least now she understood what it meant to fight in the beast round.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Days later, the Savior limped out to the edge of the training yard and leaned against one of the main pillars under the balcony. She groaned as she took weight off her right knee which was twice the size it ought to be. The damn wolf she’d fought had barreled straight into her from the side, driving his hard skull against her leg joint. The healers had assured her it wasn’t broken and would heal on its own in time; Charming told her she would resume training when it again looked like a knee. Between her knee and the throbbing in her shoulder, she hadn’t quite convinced herself that she’d actually won her fight.

“Don’t let them see how much it hurts,” a rough voice said from beside the pillar.

The blonde looked up to see Regina standing there, dark bruises wrapping around her throat. She, too, had won her fight despite her appearance. This particular round of games had been brutal on the House of Hearts. Thomas had lost his match and his life. No one seemed too particularly bothered by his absence and the blonde had only learned his name after his death. Merida, Gideon, and Graham had all earned injuries that would add to their collection of scars but weren’t life threatening. Jones was sporting two black eyes from a broken nose. But aside from Thomas, they’d all won their matches. Even the Savior and the Champion.

Lucky. That’s how they’d referred to the Savior and her injuries. The knee wasn’t busted and despite the wolf sinking his teeth into her shoulder, it hadn’t ripped flesh from bone. The blonde didn’t call that luck. The only reason the damn beast hadn’t torn her apart was because she’d stabbed it dead while its teeth were still embedded in her. Ruby assured her that since the wolf was under the influence of a potion at the time of the bite, she probably wouldn’t be cursed with the change.

Probably.

“I’m told you fought well,” Regina said, gingerly leaning against the pillar. Despite her advice, a grimace crossed her features as she settled.

“You fought better,” the blonde replied.

_The Savior woke with a start, eyes flashing open, fire burning in her shoulder. She jolted upright from the healer’s table, staring wildly around the room. The tables were filled with fighters groaning with injuries and a few that had obviously succumbed. Nausea rolled in her gut as she blinked to clear the spots from her vision._

_She looked down and saw her shoulder was heavily bandaged. She could still smell the damn dog’s foul stench on her, feel his hot breath as his yellowed teeth had sunk into her flesh. The lessons from Ruby had taught her well and the short sword she’d kept in her boot had sunk easily into his flank. Once she was sure he was dead, she’d pulled the blade from him and held it aloft from her pinned position on the ground. She’d wanted to make sure no one thought she was dead; the crowd had once again been displeased with her performance. She barely remembered being carried off and the healer appearing over her, declaring she’d live just before throwing a calming powder in her face._

_“Oi’, you’re alive then.” Merida slid off a bunk by the wall. “Just in time, too.”_

_“Time for what?” she managed, wincing at the sight of the bindings wrapped around the red head’s back._

_“The Champion’s just been called for her fight!” She grinned, swayed slightly. “Let’s go up and watch.”_

_The blonde found herself being pulled to her feet despite a few grunts that Merida seemingly didn’t hear or flat out ignored. “They let us watch?”_

_“Well, not from the stands, no.” She led them down a dark corridor. “But we can see well enough through the gates.” She grinned maniacally back at the blonde. “Ringside view!”_

_And what the Savior witnessed was nothing short of magical. Regina stood on the sands against three women. They were all of average build, dark hair and tanned skin, appearing more like Regina than the blonde or Merida, and each brandished their own weapon of choice. One had a whip, one a spear, and one pointed two short swords at the Champion. As soon as the command was given to start, the trio began to circle; the spear was twirled and whirled around much to the delight of the crowd. The whip flicked back and forth looking more like a snake than the women did. The Savior thought they looked more like wild dogs circling; she’d seen beasts take down prey much larger than themselves in the same fashion._

_“Does the Champion know them?” Merida asked when it was clear that Regina and the one with the swords were exchanging words._

_“Aye,” Jones said, leaning against the gate next to them. “She spent several summers with them when they were all children.”_

_The Savior’s head whipped around. “What? How?”_

_“The two kingdoms used to live in peace,” he said. “Regina’s father would visit his family and take her with him.”_

_“That’s enough, Killian!” Ruby snarled. “You know she doesn’t talk-”_

_The crowd roared cutting off whatever else she had to say. Their attention was drawn immediately back to the killing grounds where the fight had started in earnest. The whip snapped as swords clashed together. Regina hooked her opponent’s knee and pulled the swords’ fighter off her feet while quickly sidestepping the whip trying to entangle her foot. Regina moved like the river, swirling around, bouncing off boulders. She blocked a thrust of the spear and stepped on the tip of the whip, pinning it down for a brief moment before she was moving again._

_The one with the short swords flipped back up to her feet. The whip found its target, biting into Regina’s back as her swords were locked against the spear. The Savior heard Merida hiss in sympathy then chuckle as Regina headbutted the spear-holder, knocking her back. The whip bit into her calf as swords locked again, one high and one low for each fighter._

_Regina couldn’t prolong the stand-off; she danced to the side, spinning the fighter into her sister’s path forcing the spear to veer off. The whip wrapped around Regina’s wrist, jerking her arm away from an intended attack. Regina’s momentary loss of balance was enough for her opponent to draw blood, slicing high on her arm. Instead of fighting the whip, Regina rolled into it, throwing her body weight against its wielder; the pommel of her sword broke teeth and jaw. Everyone stumbled back a step, reassessing, breathing. The Savior sucked in a breath; the roar of the crowd was deafening. She risked a glance at her fellow fighters; they looked grim. She heard Ruby mutter under her breath. “Come on, Regina.”_

_The spear was thrown; Regina sidestepped, bringing her swords up to engage. The whip wrapped around her neck and yanked her off her feet; Regina’s back slammed into the ground, losing her grip on one of her weapons._

_“No!” The Savior breathed without even realizing it._

_Regina was dragged across the sand; one hand clawed at the suffocating bands around her neck while she kicked away a would-be opportunist with her feet. Then she swung over and behind her head with her remaining sword, slicing through the coil of leather, freeing herself. She stumbled hurriedly to her feet, coughing as she tried to drag breath back into her chest. The spear cut across her thigh as she ripped at the coils clinging to her neck._

_“Move! Move!” Jones hissed, banging a fist against the gate._

_The sister with the swords rushed in to make the killing blow. Regina caught her with a raised left forearm then thrust upwards with her right. The Champion’s sword cut straight through the sand snake’s chest and out her back. A yell of rage and pain sounded; Regina let the body drop, not bothering to fight for her embedded sword. She rolled instead for the sword she had dropped as the whip wielder lunged for her sister’s body._

_A blow across Regina’s back dropped her to one knee. The edge of the spear cut across her back as it dragged against her skin. Regina rolled away from it, coming up in time to catch a sloppy charge from the sister that had wielded the whip. Tears streaked her dirt stained face as she tried to use her sister’s swords._

_“You should have stuck with what you know!” Regina snarled, ripping one blade from her grasp before slitting her throat and shoving her body towards the snake with the spear. She stepped back as the sisters momentarily embraced. She leant down and picked up the short sword; she’d end the fight with one of hers and one of theirs._

_The last snake stood stained by her sisters’ blood, spear in hand and hate in her heart. They took each other’s measure. The gladiators watched from the gates, the crowd roared its appreciation, and Cora leaned forward in her seat on the gallery._

_The spear and swords clashed, hitting, blocking, disengaging. Regina knew the snake wouldn’t throw the spear anymore, not when it was her only weapon and gave her the advantage of reach. Both fighters gained cuts as they thrust and counter punched. Regina feinted for a killing blow to the neck that would never land; the snake spun, swinging the spear around for the Champion’s middle. It would have been a debilitating blow if it hadn’t been exactly what Regina wanted._

_The hard wood landed against Regina’s side, cracking ribs, eliciting a grunt of pain. The snake grinned, thinking she’d won until she realized the Champion had clamped down on the spear. Regina’s arm locked it in place against her side long enough to slam her sword down against it, splintering the shaft. The sudden lack of weight threw the snake off balance. Regina flipped her sword around in her hand and drove the point straight into the snake’s chest sending them both to the ground._

_The crowd lost its collective mind. The gladiators weren’t much better. But the Savior watched in stunned awe as the Champion slowly regained her feet, her sword, and faced the gallery. She did not salute the royals; she simply stared for a long minute, swaying slightly, before she turned for the gates._

“If I had fought well,” Regina grunted, “I wouldn’t be…standing here…I’d be…training.”

The blonde frowned at the breathy quality of the Champion’s voice. It sounded like she had just run the entire length of the forest. She pushed off the pillar, moving to see Regina easier. “Are you all right?”

Sweat rolled down Regina’s face, her usually olive toned skin pale against the fresh bruises. “I’m fine.” Blood trickled in a thin rivulet from her nose. “What the hell-?”

The Savior grunted as she caught Regina before she hit the dirt. “Charming!”

Ruby got to them first. “What happened?” She easily scooped Regina from the blonde’s arms. “She’s bleeding!”

Charming’s very sharp sword was at the blonde’s neck. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” She held very still. “I think she’s been poisoned.”

“What?” Charming glanced at the Champion cradled in the wolf’s arms. “She was fine earlier.”

“A parting gift from the sand snakes,” Jones said, his hand gently closing over Regina’s throat. “Something slow acting.” He looked up at Charming. “Her heartbeat is fast. Too fast.”

“Get her to the healers! Go!”

“I can help,” the Savior offered.

Charming slowly lowered his sword away from her neck. “How?”

“I’ve seen these effects before. The armies we fought in my homeland often used poisons on their blades,” she said. “If the healers have the right ingredients, I might be able to make the cure.”

He glanced up towards the balcony, probably looking for Cora. “I’m sure the healers can handle it.”

She took a step closer to him. “And if they can’t?”

He looked around again, his gaze traveling over the gates and the shadows by the stairs before he asked, “Why do you care?”

She hesitated; she wasn’t really sure actually. She admired the woman for her fighting skills; she admired the woman period. But she’d seen attractive women before and this was clearly neither the time nor the place for such thoughts anyway. Finally, she settled on something she thought Charming would understand. “Regina is the Champion of this House. She deserves a better death than poison.”


	5. Chapter 5

The Savior arrived at the healer’s rooms in time to see the Champion vomit violently. Ruby stood near Regina’s shoulders, keeping her head turned away even as she kept Regina from falling off the table. Jones stood at the door; eyebrow raised at the blonde’s appearance.

“All right! Everybody out!” Healer Lucas shouted, appearing from the back with a bowl and cloths. She was a gruff old woman with a multitude of scars along her arm. Ruby called her Granny, but she was the only one that could get away with it. The old woman glared at the blonde. “She’s not dying on my watch so we certainly don’t need a Savior. Get out.”

Jones tried to pull her back, but she stepped forward. “I can help.” Ruby’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. No one challenged Granny once she had spoken. “I’ve seen this kind of poison before.”

“Oh, yeah?” Granny placed a wet compress on Regina’s forehead. “And seeing its effects makes you an expert in healing?”

“Spending the majority of my childhood at the beck and call of the elders, most of whom were healers does,” the Savior argued. When the old woman still didn’t look convinced, she held out her arm and showed off a jagged scar. “Feeling its effects makes me wish that fate on no one.”

Granny exchanged looks with both Ruby and Jones. Regina groaned, her face scrunching up in pain. They all looked worriedly at her. Granny jerked her head towards the supplies. “Go on, then.”

The blonde gave the old woman a curt nod before going towards the supplies. She gave the rows of jars and bowls a quick once over. Every healer was different, but every healer had a system. Granny kept her ingredients with the most common uses in the middle, volatile to the right, less common to the left, and expensive/hard-to-get on the top shelves. She immediately reached for two things she recognized on the top shelf. She pulled out four more things before she acknowledged Ruby standing at the door.

“What?”

The wolf swallowed hard. “Can you save her?”

“Possibly.” She scanned the top shelf again. “Damn it.”

Ruby had opened her mouth to say something, then frowned, “What is it?”

The blonde switched gears, pushing two jars away and pulling the bowls and a vial off the bottom shelf towards her. “The only thing I can make right now will slow it down but not cure it. I’m missing one key ingredient for the cure.”

“What? What are you missing?” Ruby asked. “I’m sure Granny can get it.”

“It’s expensive,” the blonde shook her head as she pulverized a bit of horn, “and if we don’t procure it in time it may be too late.”

“Regina is the fucking Champion of this house!” Ruby argued. “The Countess can afford to buy a single ingredient to save her dau…Champion’s life.” When the blonde looked at her with a frown, she glared back. “What ingredient do you need?”

The blonde met the taller woman’s eyes. “Dragon scale.”

“Oh shit.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Savior rolled her neck and shoulders, stretching out stiff muscles. It was the second night after Regina had fallen ill to the poison inflicted upon her. The imp had argued against procuring the dragon scale, hissing quietly near Cora’s ear once Granny had made her request. The comments he’d made about the Champion’s worth hadn’t been meant to be overheard, but he hadn’t realized Ruby had been in the back room. Her growl as she’d emerged had actually made the little troll jump.

In the end, possibly to save face in front her of her fighters, Cora had instructed Granny to procure whatever she needed.

The first night had been rough. A fever raged through Regina, making her thrash around until finally they’d strapped her down. When Ruby left to get food, the Savior had luckily stayed behind, surprising Rumple when he’d appeared from the shadows. Upon finding the Savior at her side, he’d claimed he was simply checking on the Champion’s health, but the blonde suspected he’d waited for Ruby to leave so he could kill Regina. After that, she and the wolf had agreed to take shifts keeping watch.

Granny Lucas had returned late in the night with the scale, and while she’d washed and cleaned her charge, the Savior had worked to make the antidote. By the time she’d finished, the sun was coming up and the antidote still needed to steep for several hours. In the morning, Charming had stopped by as had one of Cora’s hand maidens. The Savior had been trying to sleep as per directions from Granny when the odd couple arrived. She’d had to bite her lip not to laugh out loud.

_The hand maiden was small with pale skin and short dark hair; her timid voice grated. She offered to help, suggesting that Cora had sent her, and Granny had almost bitten her head off._

_“Don’t need help from the likes of you, girl!” The old woman glared at her over her glasses. “You’ve done enough helping for a lifetime.”_

_The girl gasped, “That was a long time ago, Granny.”_

_The healer slammed a bowl down hard. “I’m not your kin, girl. Never was.”_

_“Healer Lucas,” Charming greeted as he entered having only caught part of the exchange. “Is everything all right?” His eyes strayed to the serving girl. “Snow?”_

_“I’m fine,” the girl said, ducking her head as she looked up at him from beneath her lashes._

_“What do you want, Charming?” Granny asked, hip checking Snow away from Regina’s bedside._

_Startled, he fumbled his answer. “I came to see…to check on the Champion.”_

_Granny grunted. “She’s stable. For now.”_

_“What happened to her?” Snow asked, gaze directed at Charming._

_“Are you still here?” Granny barked at her, making her jump. “Shouldn’t you be reporting back to the so-called queen that her Champion is still alive?” Then she switched her focus to Charming. “You checked on her. You can leave now.” She glared at Snow. “Unlike some people, Regina deserves my attention.”_

Snow and Charming had both scurried out after that last bit of chastisement. When Jones and Ruby stopped in during their mid-day break, the blonde asked about the unlikely pair.

_“They’re hardly a subtle pair, are they?” Jones laughed. “If you ever hear strange noises coming from the wine cellar, don’t go look.”_

_Which was an interesting fact since Charming shouldn’t even be able to access the wine cellar. “Why does Granny hate Snow?”_

_“Well, that’s a whole other story, love,” he said, “and it’s not mine to tell. Unlike Snow, I can keep a secret.”_

_“Have you given her the antidote?” Ruby asked, changing the subject. Unlike the uncharming pair, Ruby had gone directly to Regina’s side, checking on her._

_“About an hour ago,” the blonde answered, filing away the bits and pieces of information. It seemed as though this House of Hearts was full of secrets. “We’ll know by morning if it works.”_

Regina let out a low keening sound. The Savior looked over and saw her struggling against her bonds. The Champion had calmed some throughout the afternoon, leading Granny to believe the antidote was working, but the fever hadn’t broken yet. The Savior got to her feet, stretching out a few kinks in her back. Granny had left a cooling balm with instructions for the blonde to apply it if necessary.

Regina pulled against the straps holding her down as the Savior approached. “Hey, hey, come on,” she said, placing her hand on the Champion’s forehead. “Ssshhhh, just relax.” The brunette’s face scrunched up but her major muscles relaxed.

“Daniel?”

The blonde froze, one hand still on Regina’s forehead, the other midreach for the cooling salve. That was a name she was certain she hadn’t heard since arriving at the House of Hearts.

Regina’s hand was flexing, searching without being able to reach upwards. “Daniel? Please don’t…don’t leave me.”

The Savior swore under her breath then clasped Regina’s hand with her own. “Sssshh, it’s okay.”

Regina’s hand squeezed tightly but her face relaxed. The corners of her mouth turned upwards. “Just a few more minutes.”

“Unh-huh,” the blonde grunted. She was definitely in hell. With her free hand, she reached for the cooling salve and managed to scoop some onto her fingers. She spread it across the Champion’s forehead, dabbed it below her ears, and used the rest across her upper chest. Within minutes, Regina’s breathing eased and her hand eventually relaxed, releasing the blonde’s hand.

The Savior gently extricated herself and stepped back from the bedside.

A few hours later, in that coldest time just before dawn, the Savior heard the Champion stirring again. She checked on her charge and found the brunette’s forehead was cool to the touch. The fever had finally broken and the blonde breathed a sigh of relief. Then she frowned as Regina flinched again.

“Damn it,” she breathed. As if the fevered hallucinations weren’t bad enough, now she had to witness a nightmare. No one wanted to be seen that way. She placed her hand on the Champion’s shoulder. “It’s okay.”

“Mother…” her voice was pained, mumbled. She twisted her head to the side. “Mother, nooo!”

It was a moan of pain. The Savior shook her slightly. “Regina, wake up.”

“You killed him!” It was a broken exhalation then Regina’s entire body relaxed and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Her breathing began to slow and the Savior slowly retreated. She wasn’t sure what she had just witnessed, but she wished she hadn’t.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Granny arrived with the rising sun, she was satisfied Regina would live. “That fever would have killed most people.” She stroked a caring hand across the Champion’s forehead. “She’s a stubborn one all right.”

The Savior had just managed to sit up when Granny turned her attention to her. She grabbed the blonde’s leg and bent the knee up and down several times. The blonde hissed at the rough treatment, grabbing the edge of the cot so she didn’t strike out at the old woman.

“Unh-huh,” Granny grumbled. “I want you to walk a lot today, keep bending it, and working it. Give it another day or two and you should be able to return to training.” She slapped a heavy hand against the blonde’s bandaged shoulder earning another grunt. “Go eat and bring back some food. Let Charming know Regina will survive.”

With her shoulder now throbbing, the blonde was happy to get away from Granny’s caring hands. When she limped out of the healer’s quarters, she held up a hand against the bright sun of morning. Granny wasn’t wrong, she had allowed her injured limbs to stiffen. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms as she walked towards the shaded area where the gladiators took their meals. She saw the imp watching her and ignored him as she made her way over to Charming.

“Regina’s fever broke during the night,” she told him. “Granny thinks she’s going to make it.”

He exhaled a relieved sigh and nodded. “Good.”

“You’ll let the Countess know?”

Charming looked past the Savior’s shoulder; the imp had disappeared back into the shadows. “I’m sure Rumple is on the way to give her the news now.”

She turned and saw the imp was gone. “For someone who is hobbled, he can certainly move when he wants to.”

“He moves as fast as the secrets carry him,” Charming said, glancing up to the balcony. “From his lips to the Domina’s ears.” He looked back to the blonde. “You’re still limping too much to train.”

She nodded. “Granny said another day or two.” She chucked a thumb towards the food line. “I’m supposed to pick up food for her and Regina.”

She sat at a table with Ruby and Mulan as she quickly ate a portion for herself. More than one person came by to ask about the Champion. They all seemed satisfied that since she’d beaten the fever, she’d be fine. When Charming’s whip cracked, they all scrambled to finish their food and begin the day’s training. The Savior acquired two more bowls and a hunk of bread to take back to Granny.

Limping back in to the healer’s area, she was shocked to see Regina sitting up. The sight of the Champion’s bare back almost made her drop the precious food she was carrying. The olive skin was littered with heavy scarring from her shoulders down to her lower back. The blonde had seen scars like it before but never so many. At some point in her life, Regina had endured the lash of a whip that had certainly almost killed her.

“Well, don’t just stand there gawkin’,” Granny snapped. “Get over here and help me.”

The blonde startled and then limped over, setting the bowls down. It was then she could see that Regina wasn’t really aware, her eyes were barely open as she rested against Granny’s shoulder, keeping her upright. Her head slumped towards her chest and the Savior rushed forwards to keep her from tipping off the bed. Once she had her weight settled against her, her bare arm thrown over her shoulder, the blonde noticed something odd. “She doesn’t have the brand.”

Granny grunted but didn’t answer as she began to address the many other wounds the sand snakes had delivered. The blonde frowned. How did the Champion of a house not have the brand? What had she done that had been so bad as to earn such a brutal whipping?

“You should know, girl,” Granny grumbled, interrupting her thoughts as she mixed a healing paste, “that if you try to use anything you’ve seen or heard here against Regina, I’ll make sure you die a death so painful, you’ll _wish_ I had used this poison on you.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” the Savior said, trying to ignore the brunette’s soft breaths against her neck. “But, can I ask you a question?” When the old woman grunted, she took that as permission. “Who is Daniel?”

A shadow crossed the old woman’s features and for a second, the blonde thought the old woman’s eyes had changed colors. “Where did you hear that name?”

“During her fever,” she said, “I think she thought I was him.”

Granny shook her head. “Best you forget you ever heard it.” She moved around the table, applying the paste to Regina’s wounds. “Saying that name around here will get you killed.” She shook her head as she looked at the Champion’s back. “Or worse.”

~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three days later as the Savior was training with Graham, and getting her ass handed to her repeatedly, all the gladiators slowly came to a stop. Graham pulled her to her feet and they both turned to see what was going on.

Regina, the House Champion, emerged from the healer's area. She paused at the threshold of the training yard, chin held high, blinking against the afternoon sun.

The fighters that had shields began to beat their swords against them. Those with spears thumped them in the dirt. Swordsmen laid fist against chest in time with the others. A gladiators’ salute of respect for one who had emerged victorious.

Regina dipped her head in acknowledgment. She might have even smirked a little when Ruby whistled. Then she walked out into the yard, and to the surprise of most, she stepped in front of the Savior. She offered the blonde her hand.

After an unsure look, the Savior shifted her grip on the sword she was holding, tucking it beneath her arm, and responded in kind. Regina grasped her entire forearm. “You saved my life.” She gave a solemn nod and an unspoken promise. “I won’t forget it.”

The blonde swallowed thickly and gave a quick nod in return. Regina smirked and released her. She glanced over her shoulder at Graham then turned back to the blonde. “He always leads with his left foot when he’s going to feint.”

“Hey!”

“When I resume training,” Regina said, walking past the Savior, “your ass is mine.”

“What?” the blonde spun to watch her.

Charming’s whip cracked through the air. “Back to work!”

Graham took advantage of her turned back and knocked the Savior’s knees out from behind her. She heard the dark sound of laughter as she hit the ground yet again.


	6. Chapter 6

A few days later and the latest games were announced. Only three gladiators from their house would fight. Cora was not happy at losing the Primus to the fighters from King George, and openly challenged whether or not Regina was the house’s true Champion still.

_“Perhaps this house needs a new Champion,” she sneered from the balcony. “One who won’t be defeated by a little sickness.”_

_Her gaze strayed to the Savior but the blonde kept her head down. She might have thought she was equal to the task when she first arrived, but she knew she was still learning._

_Regina was furious, stepping forward and snarling up towards the balcony. “You want me to fight, **Domina**?” Her dark eyes flashed dangerously, holding Cora’s. “Put a sword in my hand and see what I can do.”_

_From behind the gathered group, Granny unexpectedly emerged. “You’ll grasp a sword again when I say you’re ready and not a day before.”_

_Charming courageously or rather stupidly also stepped forward and addressed the Countess. “This great house’s honor would not be well reflected if we offered up an ill-prepared fighter.”_

_“You think I’m ill-prepared?” Regina’s snarl turned on Charming. Ruby subtly held the Champion’s wrist, keeping her from raising her fist against Charming or the domina._

_Cora regarded Charming then sniffed, “Perhaps you’re right.” She reached back and took a goblet of wine from Snow’s hands. “It wouldn’t do for us to offer up a **weak** champion.” She took another dismissive look at Regina who was now flanked by Killian as well as Ruby. “Make sure the Savior is in the afternoon fights. I want everyone to see that we still have gladiators worthy of their interest.” _

_Cora swept from the balcony leaving a yard full of reeling gladiators. Regina broke free of Ruby’s hold and got in Charming’s face. “Let me train.”_

_He glanced at Granny who shook her head. “Two more days.”_

_“One.”_

_Reluctantly, Granny nodded. “One more day.”_

_Regina stalked away, shoulder checking the blonde as she passed. “Try not to die, Savior. If anyone is going to kill you, I want it to be me.”_

Standing at the edge of the arena, the Savior bounced on the balls of her feet, testing out the strength of her knee. It was still sore with certain movements but she wasn’t worried about it. The wound to her shoulder wasn’t completely healed either but no one seemed concerned that she was fighting again so soon.

“You got the beast round again,” Charming said, handing over two razor edged swords.

“Another wolf?” she asked, rolling her shoulders with the real weight of steel in her hands.

He checked the cinches of the armor she wore over her injured shoulder. “Yes. Try not to get bitten this time.” He looked out at the afternoon sky. “The moon may not be out, but it is wolftime.”

She was nodding along then froze as she realized what he was saying. “Wait. What?”

“It isn’t a potion this time that caused your opponent’s change,” Killian explained, he was on the schedule to fight right before the primus.

The gates opened for her entrance to the arena. Charming pushed her towards them. “You’ll take on the curse if you get bitten.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?!”

Killian laughed darkly, following her towards the gates. “Regina won’t train you if you’re a wolf.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” She shouted back at him but the gates closed and the guards gestured for her to enter the arena. She had to shake it off and get her head in the game. There was a snarling beast waiting for her in the center of the sands, and she didn’t have time to reflect on why it suddenly felt so important for her to get out of this match unscathed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*

The Savior had won her fight. So had Killian. She’d been so paranoid about being bitten that she’d actually survived her fight completely unscathed. Killian had not been so fortunate. He’d lost a hand.

He’d been drunk the five days since the match.

“Where’s Jones?” Charming asked as all the gladiators slowly filed out to begin the morning’s training.

Everyone kind of shuffled their feet and looked down or around, anywhere but at Charming. Except Regina. She just rolled her eyes and adjusted the bracer she wore over her forearm. “You know damn well where he is.” She pointed with her sword. “He’s sulking.” She didn’t add that he was also, no doubt, hungover.

“Even if he isn’t training, he will be out here, damn it,” Charming growled, grabbing a bucket from the water barrel before stalking off towards the barracks.

The Savior shifted her grip on her shield. “I thought you were friends with Killian.”

Regina looked at her. “And?”

“And you kind of just ratted him out?”

“Killian didn’t lose his sword hand. He needs to get over himself and start fighting without it.” She rolled both the swords she held. “As long as he can keep a shield on his stump, he’ll be fine.”

They heard a yell and then more yelling and swearing. The Savior saw the Imp standing near the stairs leading to the main house; he looked positively gleeful. Charming and a soaking wet Killian appeared in the doorway with Charming throwing Killian into the yard. Jones yelled in pain as he fell to the dirt, jolting his entire body, including the stump. The Savior winced in sympathy as Jones slowly rolled to his knees.

“You son of a bitch! Do you have any idea how much that bloody hurts?”

Charming threw his whip down to the ground, grabbed Jones by the front of his tunic, pulled him up to his feet and head-butted him. “Do you think I care?”

Blood poured down Killian’s face as he fell back to his knees. “And now you broke my fucking nose?”

“Get up, Jones.” Charming strode forward and kicked him in the thigh.

Killian rolled with the hit, groaning. The gathered gladiators were starting to murmur. Regina eyed them. She understood what Charming was trying to do, but Jones was wallowing. He was showing weakness and even in the yard that wasn’t something the other fighters would forget.

“Do you want to die in the mines, Jones? Cause that’s where you’re headed if you don’t-” Charming had been moving in for another kick when Killian grabbed him behind the knee and pulled him off his feet. Charming landed on his back in the dirt.

Both men scrambled to their feet, facing off against each other. A sword landed in the dirt between them. A split second and then Killian dove for it, grabbing it with his good hand, rolling over his shoulder and ending up behind Charming. The trainer spun on his heel then dodged to the side as Jones swung for him. Regina gave a short whistle, then tossed her second sword, and Charming caught it.

The two men began to fight in earnest. The swords knocked loudly against each other. High. Low. Gladiators moved out of their way as they used the entire yard for their fight. Finally, their hilts locked together and Charming grinned. “Good.” He disengaged, stepping back in a guard position. “You’re not worthless, after all.”

Head pounding, nose aching, arm throbbing, Jones still had blood lust driving him. “What?”

“You can still fight, Jones.” Charming lowered his sword. “Once your stump heals up, we’ll find a hook for you or something to wear so you can still hold a shield.”

Jones frowned. “A hook?”

Charming tossed his sword back to Regina. He glared at her as he picked up his discarded whip. “You dropped something earlier.”

She shrugged nonchalantly, walked over and took her sword back from Jones who still looked stunned. “Go see, Granny.” She told him. “After all that rolling around in the dirt you just did, I’m sure you need clean bandages.” Then she readied her swords. “Come on, Savior. Try and hit me.”

The whip cracked through the air and everyone got to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Savior had been training with Regina for nearly two weeks when she was once again escorted into the main house to see Cora. The woman sat behind her desk, acknowledging the blonde only after she’d dismissed the guards.

“Well, you’ve survived three fights. I suppose you want to live, after all.” She put some sort of lotion on her hands and rubbed them together. “And now you’re training with the Champion. Tell me, how is that going?”

She’d been having her ass handed to her every day. She still hadn’t managed to actually hit Regina with any of her strikes, but she was staying on her feet longer each time they sparred. “I’m learning a lot.”

“It’d be a shame if you weren’t.” Dark brown eyes held hers. “You spend enough time in the dirt, I sincerely hoped you were getting something out of it.”

The blonde bristled at the criticism but bit her tongue. “Better to learn here than in the arena.”

“Indeed.” She stood up and circled the desk. She studied the Savior, assessing her silently, smirking when the younger woman shifted uncomfortably. “Your son is alive.”

The blonde’s knees buckled so badly she had to stumble backwards to remain upright. Her heart pounded hard in her chest at those simple four words. “W-hat? How…how?”

“Both very good questions,” Cora said. “The answer to both is money. I spent a lot of it to track him down and find out what happened to him.” She paused, letting the information sink in. “It will cost a great deal more to purchase him.”

Watery green eyes snapped up. “Pur-purchase him?” She swallowed thickly. “He’s a slave?”

“Oh, yes,” Cora said. “He was found shortly after your capture during a sweep of the remains of your village. The general’s forces auctioned him off, and he was bought by a…” She rustled through some pages on her desk, picking up one scroll to read from. “Ah yes, a Lord Silver bought him, claimed he was in need of a new house boy.” She frowned as she continued to read the scroll. “Apparently, Lord Silver goes through several house boys a year.”

Her legs could no longer hold her and the Savior sank to her knees. The veins in her arms bulged as she pulled against the shackles on her wrists. The urge to scream and yell filled her chest; she needed to destroy something. Her boy…her sweet innocent boy…

Cora watched the Savior impassively, sipping her wine as she waited for the blonde to gain control of herself. She gave Rumple a smirk as he watched from the shadows behind the gladiator. “Now Savior, I am willing to purchase your boy, but I’m going to need something from you in return.”

Holding back her tears had been a battle she’d been unable to win. She lifted her tear stained face to Cora. “Anything.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’ll do anything you want.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Next week, we will be traveling to the games at a new arena,” Charming announced to the gathered gladiators. “For the opening games, the hosts obviously want to see a grand spectacle. All fights will be to the death. There will be no mercy shown and no quarter given.”

A murmur rumbled through small area. Regina glanced at the Savior, surprised to see her with her head down and not the curious look Regina had come to expect. She frowned and turned her attention back to Charming as he read off the list of gladiators scheduled to fight. At least half of their house would be participating and yet she hadn’t heard the Savior’s name.

“And for the primus, they’ve brought in a special opponent. A fighter that has never been defeated; a demon spat up from hell itself.” The gladiators murmured again, some clearly understanding the reference. Charming dropped the scroll to his side. “In a fight to the death, the Chernabog will face our house Champion…and the Savior.”

The blonde slowly lifted her head, hardened green eyes meeting the shocked stares of all the other fighters. Including Regina.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Won't have time to post tomorrow morning so here's your next update. Thank you to any of you lovely readers out there. I hope you're enjoying!

Regina slammed the Savior up against a wall, arm across her throat. “You knew!” She snarled into the blonde’s face. “You knew before Charming read that scroll. How?”

The blonde pushed her off and slid away from the wall before she could try to pin her again. They completed half a circle around each other before the Savior stopped, white knuckled fists at her sides, and exhaled. “The Countess wants you dead.”

_“I’ll do anything you want,” the blonde said still on her knees at Cora’s feet._

_The Countess and self-titled Queen of Hearts cupped the gladiator’s chin in her hand and smiled. The Savior thought she might vomit; she’d never seen someone remind her so strongly of a snake. She sank onto her heels when Cora released her and circled back behind her desk._

_“In order to bring young Henry here, I will have to pay an obscene amount of gold. Now, of course, this gold will be taken out of your winnings. However, your current winnings will never be enough.” She nodded approvingly as the Savior got back to her feet. “In order to pay this sort of debt, you will need to achieve the winnings of a Champion.”_

_The cold dread that filled her belly whenever she unexpectedly came across a snake swept over her. “But Regina-”_

_“Regina is old news. She’s been the house champion for years. She needs to be dethroned.” Cora smiled tightly. “And I tire of her attitude.”_

_“I-I don’t think I can defeat her,” the blonde admitted honestly. She also didn’t want to._

_“I’ve seen you practice; you can’t.” She held up a rolled-up scroll. “But the Chernabog can.”_

_“The cherna-what?”_

_“The Chernabog, a gladiator like no other, with skin blacker than the night. Some claim he is a demon and that no simple sword can slay him,” she scoffed at the inflated stories._

_“He’s never lost a match,” the blonde breathed out. Stories of the Chernabog, a towering shadow figure with glowing red eyes, had reached even her home across the seas. They’d called him something different in her land. Devil._

_“Yes, well, you and Regina are going to write a new chapter for the story. You’ll both fight valiantly against him, wounding him, whatever,” she waved her hand dismissively. “Sadly, Regina will then fall to his sword in the arena, and you will kill him in revenge, and emerge victorious. New Champion for the House of Hearts.”_

_“You want me to let him kill her?”_

_“Precisely. A glorious death on the sands. What she’s **always** wanted.” _

_Somehow, the blonde doubted that. “And if I die?”_

_Cora sat back in her seat, hands folded in her lap. “I doubt young Henry will survive the winter.”_

“You have a son named Henry?” Regina asked when the Savior finished telling her about her meeting with Cora.

The blonde nodded.

“That was my father’s name,” Regina said quietly, almost to herself. She paced the length of the room, thoughts tumbling one over the other. Finally, she stopped. “Are you going to try and kill me, Savior?”

The blonde shook her head; she couldn’t even look up. She felt completely and utterly defeated. “No.”

“Good. Because you would have failed and I’d hate to kill Henry’s mother.” Then, surprisingly she shrugged. “Everything else doesn’t matter.”

The Savior frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We continue to train like we have been, we fight together, and as long as you don’t do anything idiotically heroic like saving my life in the arena, Cora can’t hold it against you when the Chernabog fails to kill me.”

“But what about-?”

“The Countess has been trying to kill me for years; she hasn’t succeeded yet.”

“And Henry?”

“She will continue to use him as leverage against you for as long as it suits her. Knowing my mot- _Cora,_ she probably already has him secured and stashed away until she finds the best way to play him against you.” She paused, considering how hard a truth she should actually speak. “Right now, you are still her best way to get rid of me. That means Henry is safe…for now.”

“For now?” the blonde got to her feet. “What does that mean?”

Regina gave her a hard look. It meant that Henry was already as good as dead. “Right now, Henry is the carrot for you to chase. When the carrot is all used up, she’ll start using the stick.” It would have been better if Cora had never learned of Henry. “And the stick she uses, might not be on you.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“There’s one thing I need to know,” Regina said unexpectedly as they stood at the gates, waiting for the Primus to begin.

The blonde looked over; the Champion wasn’t looking at her. She was adjusting the bracer covering her forearm. “What?”

“Are you really a coward?” Brown eyes lifted, locked with green. “ _Did_ you hide beneath the bodies of your fallen?”

The Savior’s grip on her sword tightened until her knuckles cracked. Emerald green hardened into slate. “No.”

Regina smirked. “I didn’t think so.”

Charming hefted the shield up for the blonde to slide her arm through the straps. It wasn’t how either she or Regina usually fought, but they’d decided to have some defense against the Chernabog. The Savior had trained her whole life using sword and shield, and Regina was Champion; she clearly knew many ways to fight.

Surprisingly, it was Charming who asked, “So, what happened?”

The blonde looked between the two seasoned fighters. Were they trying to distract her? She growled, “After we were routed in battle because of an inept commander, I returned to my village. I hid my _son_ under the bodies.”

Regina’s chin tilted upwards in understanding. Charming’s eyebrows raced up his forehead. “You have a son?”

The blonde nodded tightly. At Charming’s questioning look, Regina nodded; yes, she knew already. The editor of the games began announcing the title fight. The Champion rolled her shoulders, then eyed the blonde at her side. “Henry is worth fighting for; he is worth living for. Let’s go kill this son of a bitch.”

“The undefeated Queen of the Arena!! REGINA!!”

Regina strolled out through the gates and into the arena like she owned it. The crowd was going wild cheering for her and the blonde just shook her head. She suddenly wasn’t so worried. They were going to win.

“And fighting alongside her, the mongrel that refuses to die…The Savior!!”

Charming slapped her on the shoulder as she took a breath and walked out to the sound of applause, a welcome change. She took her place at Regina’s side, and the editor began announcing their opponent.

“He needs no introduction. He is the Shadow of Death. A hell-beast so putrid even the depths of hell would not keep him. He is…Chernabog!!”

Regina turned to the gate opposite of theirs to watch the so-called shadow emerge. He moved with leonine grace, and while it was true that his skin was dark as night and his height had him head-and-shoulders over his opponents, Regina saw only human eyes. Dark depths which seemed to glance over them as though they were nothing. A lion ignoring the sheep.

It rankled.

“Even his swords are huge,” the blonde muttered. Unlike them, he chose to fight with no defense, only a sword in each hand.

“A style we know how to fight,” Regina muttered back. “We know the weaknesses of the style.”

The Savior gave her a sidelong look. They both used the style because if you were confident in your attack you didn’t need defense. If Regina was trying to make her feel better, it wasn’t working.

“No mercy shown! No mercy given! A fight to the death!” The editor yelled to the cheering crowd. “BEGIN!”

They immediately began to circle. The Chernabog did not seem bothered that the fight was two to one. He appeared bored. The blonde risked a glance at Regina, expecting the Champion to go first. Her second of inattention drew the demon’s attention and in a blink he charged. She barely got her shield up in time to take a reverberating hit to it, hearing a second solid thunk as his other sword struck Regina’s shield as well.

Oddly enough, the hit calmed the Savior. The noise of the crowd went away, thoughts of her son faded, worries about Cora vanished. The only thing that mattered was the sword in her hand, the woman beside her, and the opponent in front of her. In a practiced move, Regina moved forward for a strike; the blonde rolled behind her, managing a slice across the Chernabog’s exposed side.

The beast of a man slashed at them with a flurry of blows. The blonde ducked and if Regina had moved any slower the shallow cut across her belly could have been devastating. She spun with it and brought a slash of her own down across his chest. A foot unexpectedly lashed out, kicking the Savior in the chest and sending her sprawling. The Chernabog focused on Regina, slashing and hacking as she retreated under the series of blows. The tip of his blade cut across the back of her arm as she turned with a hit; she hissed.

The Chernabog yelled in pain as the Savior sliced the back of his leg; he stumbled, turned in a fury and hooked the Savior’s shield off her arm. He followed with a savage punch to the Savior’s face; she ate dirt and rolled quickly to the side avoiding his follow-up strike. Regina struck again, her blade locking against his, until he smashed into her shield with his free hand. They both stumbled backwards, momentarily separating. The Savior got back to her feet, scrambling for her shield before they reengaged. She heard a deep rumbling sound behind her and turned in time to see the Chernabog laughing. Then he rolled his swords in his hands and attacked again.

The Savior got to Regina’s side and they moved as one. Ducking, attacking, blocking, attacking, switching sides, moving around him, they pressed forward constantly attacking. Regina slid behind him and gained a deep slash across his back. She got a backhand to the face for her efforts. The Savior thrust her sword forward and sunk it into his abdomen. For a moment, everything paused, he looked down at her sword impaling him, then back up to her still holding the hilt.

She was so surprised he hadn’t gone down with the blow, she didn’t see his sword swinging for her neck. There was a loud clang as Regina blocked the deadly blow with her own weapon. The Chernabog glanced at Regina like she was a pesky insect; then he slammed his forehead down against the Savior’s face knocking her back, pulling her sword free from his gut.

Shaking off the hit, the Savior stumbled back to her feet. She blinked repeatedly at the fight raging in front of her. His back was to her. The moment Cora had wanted was happening before her very eyes. Regina’s shield was ripped away. She would only be able to block one incoming blade not both. All the Savior had to do was move slow enough that Regina would take a killing blow before she attacked.

The Savior charged forward. She heard the first hit – sword against sword. She heard Regina grunt as she blocked the attack. His free arm was in motion; he’d take her head in one swing. The blonde leapt, the point of her sword angled down, sinking through flesh right at the base of his neck. Regina rolled away from the sword at her head and drove her blade up beneath his chin her blade exiting through the top of his head.

As the Chernabog dropped to his knees, the crowd collectively lost their minds.

Regina looked over his bloody head to the blonde and grinned. They’d won.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE heed the tagged warnings. We are about to get into some seriously dubious consent by the end of this chapter.  
> And we're just going to go ahead and bump that rating up a little bit just to be safe. 
> 
> Oh, and I have been remiss in not thanking Danny24 for giving most of this a read through and assuring me it was readable!

After their astounding victory in the arena, they were taken not to the bathhouses for sport and pleasure, but to the main castle. Their wounds were tended and they were bathed and oiled, dressed in the whitest cloth the Savior had ever seen, even if there wasn’t that much of it to see. Her breasts were covered and a braid of it wrapped around her waist securing a very short skirt. She watched Regina constantly, taking her cue from the Champion about how to act. The excitement just after the fight was gone and Regina now seemed completely bored with the whole affair. She allowed herself to be bathed and offered only the barest movements as she was dressed.

With no idea what was going on, the blonde was practically shaking with nerves as they stood side-by-side, waiting for whatever was next. She feared how mad Cora would be at Regina still being alive, but the Champion had saved her life. Even if she hadn’t, the blonde couldn’t have just stood by and let that beast kill her. Her mouth went dry and she shifted her weight from foot to foot, eyeing the guards that were eyeing them, watching the servants scamper in and out of the receiving hall. Finally, Cora reappeared, looking as excited as the blonde had ever seen her.

She swept towards them, eyeing them critically. “The Queen was so impressed with your victory that she wants to put you on display.” She pushed a tendril of Regina’s dark hair back behind her ear. “They want to show you off to their friends.” She examined the Savior in turn, pushed the band around her waist lower on her hips. “You are theirs to command. Speak only when spoken to. Do their bidding. Keep them happy.” She glared at Regina. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Domina,” Regina replied.

The Savior glanced at her then back to Cora and nodded unsure. “Yes, Domina.”

“Good. Now follow me.”

“Listen to me, Savior,” Regina said quietly as they began to follow Cora. “We are stone cold killers. We are indifferent, untouchable. These people and their emotions, their desires are those of mere mortals. We are gladiators. _Gods_ as far as they’re concerned. We do not react emotionally. Got it?”

“Yeah, sure,” the blonde barely had time to agree before the grand doors of the ball room were opening before them. Her eyes widened as all the royals’ guests turned towards them and began applauding.

Regina’s chin was up and she stared straight ahead as they walked through the crowd; the Savior, completely lost as to what was going on, copied her. Hands reached out to touch them as they passed. Comments were made and eyes followed their every movement until they reached the royal dais.

Cora inclined her head to the royal couple sitting on their thrones. “I present to you, the Champion of my House, Regina, and the one that helped her defeat the Chernabog – The Savior.”

The King was clearly uninterested. He barely acknowledged Cora as he gestured for his goblet to be refilled, but the Queen was enthralled. “What an absolutely striking pair.” She rose from her throne and descended the few steps to stand in front of Regina. “Always the touch of exotic danger in this one.” She trailed the back of her hand over the Champion’s cheek. “So dark and intense.” Her fingernail slid across the shallow cut on Regina’s abdomen before she moved towards the blonde. “And you.” She stroked a hand down a well-toned bicep; she smirked when the blonde tensed. “Oh, I believe she might be sensitive.” The smirk deepened when she caught the Savior’s gaze with her own. “Don’t worry, Savior. We’ll be gentle.”

The Queen withdrew, gesturing with her hand. “Have them displayed over there. I want our guests to see them.” She paused before sitting. “See. But not touch.”

For the next two hours, they simply stood and were gawked at. The blonde thought Regina might have actually turned into a statue; she barely looked as though she was breathing. Mostly people stood admiring them, pointing out scars to one another or attributes that they particularly liked. A few asked questions which Regina answered tersely. One young boy was particularly enthused, asking about their favorite weapons and difficult opponents. He was the only one that elicited anything slightly emotional from Regina as she smiled describing her preferred sword.

By the time a gong sounded, announcing the king’s departure from the room, the Savior was exhausted. The day had been emotionally and physically draining. Too much adrenalin and nerves from her fight to this showing had her feeling slightly punch drunk. With the king’s departure followed shortly thereafter by the queen, she and Regina were escorted out of the hall. They were taken down a short corridor and shown into a warmly lit room where a servant offered them food and drink.

The Savior eagerly scarfed down a few pastries and a goblet of wine. She noticed Regina only accepted a glass of wine. “You aren’t going to eat?”

Regina shook her head, maintaining her silence as she watched the door.

The blonde glanced at it. “We’re done for the night, right?”

Dark eyes met hers but before Regina could answer, the door opened and Cora once again swept towards them. She appeared happy and the blonde swallowed thickly; it was not a good look on the older woman.

“The Queen has requested a private audience.” She was practically beaming. “ _Both_ of you.” When Regina looked away, Cora grabbed her by the jaw. “You will _not_ disappoint her.”

After a moment’s defiance, Regina snapped out, “Have I ever disappointed her before?”

Cora’s eyes narrowed but she nodded. “Good.” She turned her attention on the blonde. “Savior, do as you’re told, follow Regina’s lead. Fail me tonight and you’ll never see Henry again.”

The blonde jolted at the unexpected threat. Before she could question what was expected of them, the door opened again. The Queen’s handmaiden stood there. “They are ready for them.”

Regina strode forward and at Cora’s insistent look, the blonde followed. They were led up several flights of stairs and to a room at the end of a corridor. Two soldiers stood guard at the doors and opened them at the handmaiden’s nod. They entered a large room – the Queen’s bed chambers. The blonde couldn’t help but look around. An expansive bed, three times as large as any she had ever seen, occupied one wall. A roaring fireplace was opposite with a thick fur pelt laid out in front of it. Two chaise lounges flanked it and a small table off to the side was laden with fruit and wine.

The Queen and another woman of obvious noble breeding sat on the lounges and a third stood near the table, picking at the fruit. A servant was pouring wine into her glass. The Queen gave them a predatory smile as they entered. “Ah, they’re here.”

Her two friends perked up and the one near the table called towards the balcony, “Ursula, the entertainment has arrived.”

Ursula emerged into the room from the balcony. Her gaze tracked hungrily over the two gladiators. “My, my, Ravenna, what have you procured for us tonight?”

Queen Ravenna chuckled, “I promised you something different, did I not?”

The blonde on the lounge leaned onto her hand, ogling Regina. “Yes, you did, and I must say I am already intrigued.”

The one standing near the table moved closer to the fire. “They are definitely a feast for the eyes.”

“Oh, there _will_ be feasting,” the Queen laughed and her friends joined her.

“Are you sure, Ravenna?” Ursula asked. “The poor Savior looks like a scared rabbit ready to bolt.”

That comment garnered the first true reaction from Regina, who turned quickly to gauge the blonde. She saw that it was true and that the Savior was trembling, eyes darting around the room, muscles rigid. Regina shifted her weight, prepared to stop her by force if necessary. She glanced at the Queen. “With your permission, shall I begin?”

“By all means,” the Queen nodded. She’d had Regina perform in a private audience before; watching her ride Graham had turned her on in ways being with the king never had. The idea of watching these two women had her underclothes damp ever since they’d entered the throne room. “Disrobe her and then come closer.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Regina answered quietly then stepped in front of the blonde blocking her view of the other women. “Hey.” She grabbed the blonde by the jaw until green eyes locked on hers. “Focus on me. Nothing else.”

The Savior shuddered, but nodded shakily. She didn’t drop her gaze as Regina reached behind her and began to unwind the bindings around her chest. She sucked in a breath when it fell to the floor.

“Close your eyes,” Regina said, her hands on the blonde’s shoulders, sliding over skin as she stepped behind her. She brought her mouth to the Savior’s ear. “Feel my touch. Stay with me. Follow my lead.” Her hands stroked down over the blonde’s abdomen, fingers tucking beneath the simple waist band. Regina watched their audience over the blonde’s shoulder; two of the women leaned forward as Regina bared the Savior to the room.

The Queen sipped her wine, licking her lips as she watched the darker hands of the Champion trace back up the blonde’s lighter flesh. Regina cupped pale breasts then pinched darkened nipples; the Savior’s mouth fell open in a silent gasp. The Queen raised her hand and crooked two fingers, signaling Regina to come closer.

Regina acknowledged the Queen’s instruction and placed an open mouth kiss along the blonde’s neck, running her tongue upwards until she was nibbling on her earlobe. The Savior was melting against her roaming hands and without even realizing it had allowed herself to be guided forwards. Pressure on her shoulders had her dropping down to her knees and she felt soft fur warmed by the fire.

“Lay on your back.” The command was whispered in the Savior’s ear, warm breath that smelled of wine wafting over her. Hands were gliding from her shoulders and down her chest; they cupped her breasts, groping them, squeezing them, gently, too gently, massaging them until the blonde whimpered, wanting more.

Then another voice shattered the illusion. “Is it just me or is the Champion way over dressed?”

A deep chuckle. “You heard Cruella,” the Queen said. “Disrobe yourself, Champion.”

The Savior’s eyes flew open as the body sitting across her legs shifted. She watched in stunned appreciation and horror as Regina gracefully reached up behind her back and easily unraveled the binding across her chest. Regina never looked down as she bared her breasts to the room; her eyes were focused on the woman, Cruella, sitting on the chaise behind the Savior’s head.

“I want to see that ass.”

Again, the Savior was painfully reminded of their audience as the woman sitting nearest the Queen spoke up. Regina looked back over her shoulder with a raised brow; the Queen nodded for her to continue. With serpentine grace, Regina rolled up to her feet and to her shame the Savior immediately missed her presence. Regina stood scant inches away and yet it was a stark reminder that they were neither alone nor in control.

When Regina’s small skirt hit the floor there was an intake of breath. The Savior watched along with everyone else as the Queen beckoned Regina closer. She ran her hand up and down the Champion’s thigh, appreciating the firm muscle, before slipping her hand between the brunette’s legs. “Oh my, Regina,” she laughed as the Champion sucked in a quick breath, her hips giving a quick buck. “What have we here?” The Queen played to her sycophants. “She’s positively soaked.”

The Queen’s friends tittered. Ursula spoke up, “She must be enjoying herself.”

“Is that it, Regina?” The Queen asked, curling and sliding her fingers through the gladiator’s slick, hot folds. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Regina ground out, holding herself rigidly.

“What about you, Savior?” the Queen asked, watching Regina hungrily as she continued to lazily stroke the strong woman. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Regina tore her fixed gaze away from the wall and growled when the blonde didn’t immediately reply. “The Queen asked you a question, Savior.”

The Savior flinched when she caught Regina’s glare. She’d been staring…gods above she’d been staring at the Queen fingering Regina and now…now she had no idea what she’d been asked. “I…I serve at the Queen’s pleasure?”

All the women, save Regina, laughed at her response. Thankfully, the Queen seemed amused as well as she slipped her hand out from between Regina’s legs. She snapped out a handkerchief and began wiping her fingers clean as she looked over the Savior. “Regina, dear,” she smiled at how hard the Champion was breathing, “I promised my friends a show.” She placed her hand on the brunette’s ass guiding her back towards the blonde. “Now, I want you to put your mouth on the Savior, and I want you to make her scream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
> .  
> .  
> sorry, not sorry?


	9. Chapter 9

Three days later, the Savior was training against Ruby in the yard. She was still exhausted and the wolf was not letting up.

“You still fucking smell like her.”

“Shut up, Red.”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, the two of you won your big fight.” Ruby blocked a swipe of the blonde’s sword. “I can only imagine how hot the sex must’ve been after that.”

The Savior didn’t verbally respond; she just lunged for the wolf. Ruby laughed and easily sidestepped her; she even patted her on the ass for her troubles. “That spot on your neck though. That one looks like it took some serious effort. Did she wait for you to pass out to do that?”

_“Mark her on her neck,” the Queen instructed from her position on the chaise._

_Regina glanced back over her shoulder at the Queen. She had just pulled her fingers free after making the Savior scream herself hoarse from her fourth orgasm. After the first round, the queen’s guests had demanded she do it again. And again. The Queen was clearly in a mood, so Regina had kept pushing the blonde until she passed out._

_“Yes, mark her neck until she wakes up,” Cruella laughed darkly. “That’s what she gets for making us wait on her to recover.” She leaned over and pushed Regina’s head towards the blonde’s neck. “Make sure everyone knows she was your bitch.”_

_The Queen sat up. “Oh, you’ve just given me a splendid idea for the next round.”_

_Regina tasted salt on the blonde’s neck as she sucked and bit at the delicate skin. She could feel the blonde’s heartbeat finally starting to slow and recover from the strain her body had been put through for the past several hours. Regina risked a glance out towards the balcony, the sky was only just starting to lighten. Whatever the Queen’s new idea, there would probably still be time for it before morning truly broke. And unfortunately, the Savior was already starting to come around._

_“Regina, dear,” the Queen started, “oh no, don’t stop what you’re doing.” She pushed Regina’s head back down. Unlike Cruella, the Queen still appeared to be stone cold sober. “Just listen while you work.” Cruella giggled. “You’ve already made the Savior your bitch, so let’s make it official. When she wakes up, I want you to put her on her hands and knees, and take her from behind. I want you to mount her. Take her like a stallion takes a mare.”_

_“Oh yes, I want to see that.” Cruella licked her lips when she heard the Savior moan. She glanced up at the Queen. “Should we treat them like the beasts they are and brand them?”_

_“Sadly, we can’t,” the Queen sighed, tracing her hand over the scars on the Champion’s back. “I promised her mother there would be no permanent injury.”_

_“Pity.”_

Ruby was still laughing, amused at her own jokes, but given what happened after the mark on her neck, the Savior was still sensitive about it. Throwing down the sparring sword, she bull rushed Ruby from the side and took her to the ground. She got in a nose busting elbow strike before the wolf got her feet under her and flipped the blonde off. The wolf flashed in her eyes; she was no longer laughing.

“I don’t know what’s the matter with you, Savior.” She spat blood to the side. “But you’re going to regret that.”

Charming’s whip flashed between them, cracking the air. “Savior,” he said, slowly coiling the whip as he moved between them, “the Countess wants to see you. Now.”

“This isn’t over,” Ruby growled.

The Savior acknowledged her with a quick nod. The wolf would get her blood in return and the blonde knew she deserved it. Hopefully, a busted nose would be enough. She passed Regina sparring with Killian, who now wore a silver hook on his left arm, brown eyes caught hers for a moment then looked away. It was the most contact they’d had since their return.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

“You’re lucky, Savior,” Cora said, moving aside a bag of coins on her desk. “Queen Ravenna enjoyed your performance.”

The blonde kept her head down. She knew Cora didn’t mean the fight on the sands, and she hated the way her face warmed at the memory.

Cora chuckled. “You should get used to it. As Champion, you’ll likely be requested often.”

She frowned. “I’m not the Champion.”

“Clearly.” She gripped the blonde by the chin, turning her head to the side. The mark Regina had left on her neck was still highly visible. Cora tsked with disgust. “You _let_ her mark you.”

“The Queen told her to-”

Cora slapped her across the face. “You are a fool if you think Regina did not enjoy marking you.” She grabbed her by the back of the neck. “A true Champion would have _never_ let herself be fucked over like Regina fucked you.”

The blonde blinked. It had all been so unexpected; she hadn’t known what to think or do. “Y-you told me to follow her lead. You said Henry-”

Cora released the hold she had on her. “You _have_ to start thinking like a Champion not some love-sick milk maid lusting after a stable boy.”

The Savior balked; she was not-

“Those women wanted to see a spectacle. You pinning Regina to the floor and having your way with her would have been a spectacle.” She washed her hands in the water basin. “Instead, I got regaled with stories of how the Champion made you _beg_.”

Shame swept over her like a flame, burning into her skin, reddening it for all to see.

“I wonder, Savior,” Cora wiped her hands off on a towel. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“No, Domina.” She’d certainly had worse, but no, it wasn’t what she would call a pleasurable evening.

“Then why didn’t you fight back?”

The flame was suffocating her, making it hard to breathe. “I thought…” There hadn’t been a choice. Had there?

“Regina fucked you, Savior.” Cora poured herself a glass of wine. “She _owned_ you and made you beg.” She eyed the blonde over her glass. “And that mark on your neck tells every single fighter down there that you are the Champion’s bitch.” She sipped her drink, letting her words sink in. “Regina knows it; the other gladiators know it. And now, finally, you know it.”

The blonde was starting to tremble; Cora smiled to herself. It would just take a little bit more. “Perhaps I overestimated you,” she sighed. “Perhaps, Regina was right that first day you arrived.” She paused, “You really are nothing.”

“I’m not nothing,” the blonde growled, head snapping up as she took a threatening step towards Cora. “I was _never_ nothing.” Her chains clinked to their full extension. “And I am no one’s bitch.”

Cora smiled at the aggression. “Good.” She sat back in her chair. “Because if you ever want to see Henry again, you’ll start acting like the Champion this house deserves.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When the Savior descended the stairs from the main house back into the training yard, Ruby was waiting for her. She threw an elbow strike that surprisingly, the blonde caught and pushed back, slamming Ruby against the wall. “Not now, wolf.”

Ruby heard the growl in the younger fighter’s voice; it called to her wolf to retaliate, but it surprised the woman. Ruby genuinely liked the Savior and up until today they’d gotten along quite well. She’d even been willing to forgive the blonde for striking her earlier so long as she’d made things even. Now the Savior was denying her recompense and that could not be allowed.

Ruby easily pushed her off. “We settle this now, bitch.”

The blonde stumbled backwards, caught the edge of the stairs to steady herself. The word bitch rang in her ears and she surged forward. Her charge caught Ruby around the middle throwing them both over one of the tables where the gladiators ate. The commotion caught everyone’s attention in the yard, but they both came up swinging, oblivious to their audience.

“What the hell is going on here?” Charming thundered, as the other gladiators tore the two women off of each other.

Ruby eased up as soon as Charming shoved her backwards; Killian and Merida each grabbing an arm to hold her back. Mulan and Graham were having a harder time holding back the blonde.

“Fuck you, Ruby! And fuck any of you who think you’re better than me!" The Savior raged. "I’ll kill all of you!”

Charming rounded on her, a right cross connecting solidly with her head and dropping the Savior to her knees. “Throw her in the cell!” he yelled, pointing at Graham. “Ruby, go work the palus. Everyone else get back to work!”

While everyone hurried to do Charming’s bidding, Regina watched silently. She’d seen the imp standing gleefully in the shadows. She’d also seen the way the blonde’s eyes had locked on her when she’d been yelling.

“What the hell was that about?” Charming asked, appearing at her side. “I’ve never seen her act like that.”

Regina watched him rub the knuckles of his right hand. “She had an audience with Cora, didn’t she?”

Charming glanced up the stairwell. “Yeah.”

Graham reappeared in the yard, nodding to them both. Regina said, “I’ll go talk to her.” She chuckled at the way Charming shook out his hand. “Been a while since you hit someone?”

“She’s got a hard head,” he said wryly.

“Keep an eye on the imp, would you?” she said, nodding to where Rumple stood at the edge of the yard, watching them. Charming grunted and headed his direction.

Regina stepped into the cool area of the barracks. Most of the cells stood open and empty as the gladiators had no privacy, but two in the back were kept available for punishment. She found the blonde sitting on the floor of the locked cell, chained wrists resting on her knees, eyes closed, head leaned back against the wall.

“Feel better?” Regina asked.

The blonde’s hands immediately curled into fists. “Go away.”

“Hmmm,” Regina hummed, unimpressed. “So, what did Ruby do to earn your wrath? Piss in your food bowl? Try to hump your leg?”

The Savior opened her eyes and slowly raised her head. “She didn’t know when to leave things alone. There’s a lot of people like that around here.”

Now that she had her attention, Regina said, “You had a meeting with Cora.”

“Yeah,” the blonde growled. “So?”

She wanted to ask if Henry was all right, but she knew better even if the blonde didn’t. “What did she say to you?”

“Why do you care?”

It would be easy to say that she didn’t care. “It’s not like you to pick a fight, especially not with Ruby who was clearly holding back.”

The blonde pushed to her feet, her chains clinking against the floor. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Come on, Savior,” Regina scoffed, wondering if the blonde was actually delusional. Hell, Ruby could beat her in a fair fight on most days which is why Regina never fought fair against the beast. “The wolf could have wiped the floor with you if she’d had half a mind to.”

The chains reached their full extension not allowing the Savior close to the bars of the cell. “You have no idea what I’m capable of,” the blonde snarled. “I could slit her throat in the middle of the night if I wanted to.”

“Then I’d have to kill you in the morning,” Regina said, no longer amused.

“Not if I kill you first, _Champion_.”

Normally, after a threat like that, Regina would already be mentally arranging her opponent’s death. But something about the way she spat out her title. “Is that what this is about?” She leaned on the bars. “Being Champion?” The blonde glared at her, jaw grinding hard enough Regina could see her muscle flexing. “What did she say to you?”

“Who?”

“Who?” Regina repeated, scoffing. “The Countess. _Cora_.” When there was no immediate answer, she rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, she still wants me dead and she wants you to be Champion.”

The Savior blinked, some of the hardness in her expression falling away. “Yeah?”

“I see; so, I would also guess she told you something horrible about me.” She raised an eyebrow. “Something to make you hate me, perhaps?” When the blonde looked away from her, Regina sighed. “What did she say I did?”

The blonde swallowed hard only able to glance sideways at the brunette. “She said you bragged about what happened…after the fight…in the…”

“In the queen’s bedroom,” Regina finished for her, nodding. “Well, Savior, I can only offer you my word that I have not, nor ever intend to, speak about that night to anyone.”

“But Ruby-”

“Likes to tease and is very sexually open about everything,” Regina said. “There is, unfortunately, a mark on your neck that gave her all the opening she needed. She scented a weakness on you and went for the kill.” She leaned against the bars. “But she doesn’t _know_ anything.”

The blonde dragged her hands over her face and through her hair. “Cora said I should have fought back that night…that I should have made a different choice.”

“ _Fought_ me? _In_ the Queen’s bedroom?” Regina asked incredulous. “We would have both been flogged within an inch of our lives. The Queen would have had guards come in and hold us down while they…” She shook her head. “No, Savior, there was no choice that night. Not for you. And not for me. We _both_ did what we had to do in order to survive.”

Regina watched as the Savior slumped back to the wall and slid down to the floor. It had been a long time since Regina’s ‘first’ time; she’d forgotten the shame that could come with performing for an audience. She’d also played this game with Cora before; she knew what the woman was capable of.

“She used Henry against you as well, didn’t she?” The blonde dropped her head to her knees but Regina saw the nod. The Champion sighed, “Cora is a master manipulator. She can and will use everything at her disposal to get her way. You can’t let her get in your head like that.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore,” the Savior admitted brokenly.

“It’s simply really,” Regina said. “Fight. Win. Stay alive. Do that and there’s very little room for her to maneuver.” She prepared to leave. “As long as you act contrite, Charming will let you of here at nightfall.”

“Regina, wait!”

The Champion paused, surprised. “Yes?”

The blonde clambered back up to her feet. “About that night…at the Queen’s palace…”

Regina held up her hand, cutting her off. “Savior, when I said I do not intend to talk about that night to anyone, that included you.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm traveling the next few days so my posting may become a bit irregular, figured I might as well start now.   
> Thank you to all the lovely readers out there. I hope you're enjoying.

Two weeks later, the Savior was just as surprised as anyone when Charming unexpectedly called a halt to the afternoon training. She was already sitting out, a rag to her face as she tried to staunch the bleeding of her possibly broken nose. Ruby had finally retaliated and considered them even.

The wolf laughed as she dropped down to sit next to the blonde. “Tip your head back, it’ll stop faster.”

“Fuck you,” the Savior responded as she tilted her head back. She gestured blindly with her hand. “What’s going on?”

“Market day,” Jones said, slouching against the column next to them. “Fresh meat.”

The gates opened and a column of seven new slaves were marched into the training yard. The gladiators cheered and hollered as the five men and two women were pushed into a line down the middle of the yard. The fighters were already yelling out odds and wagers; the Savior saw Rumple moving amongst them, jotting down bets.

“Come on,” Ruby pulled her up to her feet. “We’ve got to look menacing.” She rolled her eyes then snatched the rag out of the blonde’s hand. “Let them see the blood; it’ll make you look dangerous.”

She didn’t know about that but Ruby was right about the other; she didn’t want to assess the new recruits while sitting on her ass. She could see why people were already making bets. The choices were mostly obvious. Three of the men were in fighting shape; two of them had the bearing of soldiers. The fourth man was average, forgettable, while the fifth man looked as though he were about to piss himself. One of the women was small, blonde, in need of a good meal and clearly belonged in a brothel more than she did a ludus. The other woman was a brunette of average size with wiry, ropy muscles. She had a feral look in her eyes and was clearly a fighter. The Savior chuckled as she realized she knew the woman.

“Rumple,” she called him over. “Five gold on the brunette.”

The imp made a note in his ledger. “You expect her to fall first?”

The Savior chuckled. “My bet is that she becomes one of us, that she earns the brand.”

Ruby and Jones both overheard and gave the brunette a more appraising look. With a shrug they both put down two gold pieces as well, but no one else was the wiser.

Charming was just finishing his welcome speech, introducing Cora to the new recruits. The gladiators all cheered for their domina, making their loyalty to the new recruits clear.

“A demonstration, perhaps?” Charming said after Cora announced her expectations. “Champion,-”

“Hold.” Cora cut him off. “A recruit is hardly worth the effort of our Champion. Have the Savior educate them.”

“Fucking hell,” the blonde muttered as she glanced over her shoulder where Regina remained in the shadows. The Champion’s arms were folded over her chest but otherwise she gave no indication she cared. The Savior stepped out and accepted the training sword from Charming, noticing the brunette recruit recognize her. She ignored her and waited for Charming to select her opponent.

One of the ex-soldiers stepped out; the brand of a deserter was inked into his flesh. He sneered at the Savior going so far as to grab at his crotch in her direction.

Charming tossed a sword onto the ground at his feet. He eyed the Savior lazily. “Show him what it means to be a gladiator.”

It was a nice change to not be on the receiving end for once. She hadn’t realized just how much she had learned in her months fighting in the ludus. She put the deserter on his ass more than once while barely breaking a sweat. Charming droned on while they fought, extolling the virtues of a gladiator and pointing out all the ways to die in the arena. Hearing the other gladiators cheering her on, the blonde found she was almost enjoying herself.

“Finish him,” Charming barked.

In two moves, she disarmed the deserter and brought him to his knees. Her blade was at his neck while Charming explained the sign of submission. The soldier grudgingly curled his fingers into the symbol to surrender. She and Charming both looked to Cora, standing on the balcony above them.

“Kill him.”

The Savior blinked, hesitating. Obviously, she’d killed before, but it had always been in the heat of battle. She’d never been put in the role of executioner. Charming saved her by stepping forward.

“Domina?” he asked carefully, respectfully. “He has given the sign of submission.”

“Yes, he has,” she said. “A little too easily for my tastes. There is no place for cowards or lazy egos in my ludus.” She flicked her hand in dismissal.

Charming nodded, turned to the Savior. He didn’t look happy about it but gave the command. “Do it.”

The Savior wanted to refuse. She hesitated, her gaze flitting over the gathered gladiators. They were all waiting hungrily for her to carry out the order. Watching expectantly. Then she spotted Regina, standing behind them all, gaze locked on her alone. She gave a slow nod.

The Savior swallowed hard and broke the man’s neck, stepping away as he dropped into the dirt.

“Give anything less than your best to this house,” Charming addressed the recruits, “and you will die.”

She dropped her sword at Charming’s feet as she walked past him, heading into the barracks. Rumple caught up to her as she rinsed her face and neck in the wash basin.

“You hesitated.”

She sighed and reached for a rag to dry herself with. “What do you want, Imp?”

“I want what the Countess wants.” He flourished his hands as he talked, then pointing at her he said, “And so should you.”

“And what is that?”

“Why, for you to be champion, of course!” He wagged a finger at her. “And as champion, you should never hesitate when the Countess gives you an order.” He made a tsking noise. “She doesn’t like that.”

“Yeah, well,” she faced him, “I’m not the champion.”

“You will be,” he assured, “soon enough.”

He was too gleeful for her tastes; she grabbed him by the front of his tunic and slammed him back against the nearest wall. “What do you know?”

“More than you,” he growled when her forearm pressed against his neck. “I wasn’t always like this, you know. _She_ is the one that crippled me.”

“Who is? Cora?”

“Regina,” he hissed. “You should watch your back around her. She’ll turn on you just as she turned on me.”

The blonde scoffed, “And I’m sure you gave her no reason.”

“I stood between her and Cora; the same place you now stand.” He grinned when she hesitated. “All I’m suggesting, is that when the time comes, you should place yourself on the winning side.”

She shoved him once more then released him, stepping back. “I stand on my own side.”

He staggered, wincing when he put too much weight on his bad leg. When he recovered his balance, she was nowhere in sight. He shook his head. “No one stands alone in this house, dearie. Eventually, you’ll have to choose a side.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The following morning, the Savior sat alone eating, her gaze followed Regina as she joined a table with Jones and Graham. She felt like she should warn the Champion about Rumple’s insinuations, but the woman would barely look at her. It bothered her more than she liked to admit. She tried to tell herself that she didn’t care about Regina; it wasn’t her problem if the Champion got hurt or killed, but that was a lie. And it wasn’t a very good one if she couldn’t even make herself believe it.

A plate dropped onto the table in front of her. “So, am I allowed to sit here? _Savior_?”

The blonde looked up, slowly assessing the woman in front of her. The recruit that she knew from across the river. She straightened, chewing on a piece of bread, and gestured for the brunette to sit down.

She kicked the bench out with more force than necessary and slumped onto the seat, pulling her plate of food close. She eyed the blonde for a moment before cracking a smile and shaking her head. “How in the hell did you end up with a name like that? _Savior_ , pfft.”

“I fought and won,” she said with a shrug. When the woman looked at her unimpressed, she sighed, “It was sometime after you’d left the territory. The soldiers lit the village sanctuary on fire with everyone in it. I got most of them out.” Most but not all. She pushed the remainder of her food away. “What about you, Lily? How’d you end up here?”

Lily grabbed the blonde’s leftovers and began devouring them. “Lost the wrong fight up in the north.” She moved her hair back from over her ear, revealing a nasty jagged scar. “Shield to the head, woke up in chains.” She looked around the tables, more than one pair of eyes were glaring at the two of them. “I can tell you’ve been making friends again.”

The blonde looked up; Robin and Ruby both shook their heads at her. She caught Regina glancing at her but she looked away almost immediately. “They’re not so bad.” She shrugged. “They’re probably just pissed I’m talking to a recruit.”

Lily gestured over her shoulder with her spoon towards Regina’s table. “What about that one? She’s been glaring daggers at me since I walked in.”

The Savior looked past her shoulder and saw Regina was, in fact, glaring at them. She frowned. “That’s the house Champion, Regina.”

“Fucking hell,” Lily swore. “Two minutes of associating with you and you’ve already gotten me in trouble again.” She shook her head. “Some Savior you are.”

The blonde frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Lily rolled her eyes but before she could reply they heard the sound of Charming’s whip crack through the air. Everyone got to their feet to get started on the morning’s training. Before they got separated, the Savior grabbed Lily’s arm. “Hey, the next three days are going to be hell. Keep your head down.”

Lily shrugged unconcerned. “If you can do it, you know I can do it better.”

The blonde shook her head. She had no doubt Lily could survive, but she wasn’t exactly known for having a good attitude. If she popped off to Charming, there could be hell to pay.

“Who is she?”

The Savior turned to find Regina standing beside her, dark eyes watching Lily stumble into the yard. “I know her from home. We kind of grew up together?”

“Old girlfriend?” Regina snapped, tossing her bowl at the bin.

“Rival, actually. She lived in the neighboring village. We were the only ones of similar age so we always ended up competing against each other.” The blonde picked up two practice swords from the chest. “Why do you care?”

“She’s a recruit, Savior.” Regina snatched up her weapons as well. “Don’t get too attached.” She tossed a shield at Merida who was walking past. “You’re training with me today, Red.”

Merida blinked, then gamely followed. “Oh, aye.”

Killian chuckled as he affixed his hook to his stump. “Well, you’ve gone and done it now, love.”

“Done what?” the Savior growled as they paired off in the sand.

“You’ve made the Champion jealous,” he laughed, then waited for her to look over at Regina. As soon as she did, he attacked.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's not forget those dubious consent warnings, yeah?

After four weeks, the recruits that had survived the training were bloodied in their first games and branded with Cora’s sigil. Of the original seven, four remained. The blonde female had gotten sent off to the town brothel after the first day and the wimpy guy got sent to the mines after two days. Lily and the ex-soldier had been no surprise. A former blacksmith with a gambling problem and too many debts had shown his strength and beaten light odds against him. The third guy, an unassuming and mildly out-of-shape thief, had cost several of the gladiators a tidy sum by earning the brand. They had all bet against him.

And the Savior was ready to kill him if he tried to touch her ass one more time. She rather enjoyed slapping her hand across his fresh brand when she congratulated him. Lily had snarled at her and threatened to punch the blonde for hitting hers; Ruby had distracted the new gladiator by thrusting a mug of ale into her hand and pulling her away. The Savior knew the two of them would end up fucking like rabbits before the night was over.

“Looks like you lost your girlfriend.”

The whispered snarl was hot breath against her cheek and the Savior rolled her eyes. “And I’ve told you more than once, Lily is _not_ my girlfriend.”

Regina had been particularly bitchy the past three weeks and although the blonde had originally shrugged off Killian’s suggestion of jealousy, she was starting to reconsider. When she turned, she found Regina standing at her shoulder, easily the closest they’d physically been to each other since- She pulled her head back at the scent of wine hitting her in the face. “Have you been drinking?”

Regina’s open mouth curled into a cruel smile, her tongue darting out to moisten red lips. “So, what if I have?”

The blonde had never seen the Champion drink at any of the celebrations the gladiators had after successful games. She usually didn’t even stay long after the initial toasts. “I’ve just never seen you-” she stepped back only to have Regina prowl closer. “What are you doing?”

“Oi, Savior!” Merida rattled a cup of dice in their direction. “Want to play?”

“I do!” Regina held her mug up in Merida’s direction although her eyes never left the blonde in front of her. “I want to play.”

“Whot?” Merida asked, shocked. The Champion never gambled.

“I am in a mood,” Regina said, her gaze lingering on the blonde’s mouth before flicking back up to widened green eyes, “and I require distraction.” She huffed a short laugh then spun on her heel to join the table with Merida, Robin, and Killian. The former thief turned new gladiator was lingering near the table until Regina growled at him and he fled.

Mulan sidled up to the blonde’s side. “What was _that_ about?”

The Savior swallowed and gave her head a slight shake. “I am not sure.”

Several hours later, when the wine had run out and most of the fighters had drunkenly stumbled to their cells, the Savior stood at the edge of the yard, looking out at the moonlit night sky. She heard footsteps approaching and turned to see the Champion making her way to her cell. The frown on her face at seeing the blonde was clear. She growled anyway, “What do you want, Savior?”

The blonde rolled her eyes. The woman ran so hot and cold it was making her dizzy. “You sound like you hate me again; you must have sobered up.”

“I was never drunk.”

“You were drinking.”

“ _And_?”

The Savior shrugged. “I’ve never known you to do that before.”

Regina scoffed. “There’s plenty you don’t know about me.” She took a few more steps. “Go back to your cell and your little friend, Savior.”

“We need to talk.”

She stopped, her back to the blonde. “About what?”

“About us,” the Savior said, taking a step closer. “About that night.”

“For fuck’s sake, Savior,” she sighed, head dropping back on her shoulders, “you have _got_ to get over yourself.”

“Me?” the blonde reared back like she’d been struck. “You’re the one that has barely been able to look at me since that day.”

“Why would I need to look at you?” she asked coldly over her shoulder. “When you do enough watching for both of us?” Regina half turned. “You think I don’t feel your gaze on me, constantly watching, eyes begging for some small scrap of attention?” She huffed a humorless laugh and shook her head. “Go away, Savior. Find someone who cares.”

It was the Savior’s turn to growl, “Don’t walk away from me, Regina!”

The Champion spun on her heel. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to acknowledge what happened between us.”

Regina chuckled darkly. “Is that what this is about, Savior? You think there’s something between us. Some… _feeling_?”

“There is,” the blonde insisted. “I don’t know what the fuck it is; I sure as hell wasn’t looking for it in this of all places. But it’s there. It’s been there since that night.”

“You’re a fool,” she hissed. “There is _nothing_ between us.”

“What about what happened that night?”

“That night?” Regina scoffed. “You mean when I fucked you? As I was _commanded_ to do?” She shook her head. “We are slaves! I did what I was ordered to do.”

“There was more to it,” she argued, grabbing Regina by the arm. “Maybe there wasn’t the first few times, but the last time, that last time when you kissed me, there was feeling there.”

“Our actions are not our own,” Regina hissed, “and neither should be the repercussions.”

“You’re lying,” the blonde insisted, “to me and to yourself. You wouldn’t be so jealous of Lily if-”

“ _Nothing_ happened.” Regina jerked her arm free. She thrust a finger in the blonde’s face. “ _Never_ speak of this again.”

The Savior watched her walk away. It didn’t matter what Regina said, the blonde knew she was right. She knew what she’d seen that night.

_“Should we treat them like the beasts they are and brand them?”_

_A thrill of fear shot through the Savior. She’d already been branded twice, once by the slavers and once by Cora; she had no desire to feel that kind of pain again._

_“Sadly, we can’t,” the Queen sighed. “I promised her mother there would be no permanent injury.”_

_The body leaning over hers tensed, but the hot mouth sucking at her neck bit down and the Savior hissed. The blood pounding at the apex between her legs was heating back up. Her head was swimming. What mother were they talking about?_

_“Pity.”_

_“Yes, but I do believe our entertainment is about to continue.” The Queen nudged Regina with her foot. “She’s conscious enough now, Champion. Take her.”_

_Regina sat up, wiped her mouth and caught faded green eyes looking up at her. She glanced at the watching queen. “As you command, your Majesty.”_

_The Savior heard the Queen and Regina, but she didn’t understand. She looked to Regina and for a moment, the Savior saw concern in Regina’s expression but it was nothing more than a flash, then the Champion’s expression flattened out._

_“Feel free to resist, Savior,” the Queen laughed. “I’d love to see the Champion truly dominate you.”_

_The blonde frowned. “What?”_

_Regina grabbed her by the hips and flipped her over. Air rushed out of her lungs in a grunt. She blinked and found herself facing a golden statue of a lion at the base of the fireplace. Then she was being pulled backwards by her hips, Regina’s knee insinuating itself between hers, pushing her legs apart. Her heart rate sped up as realization sunk in. She was on her knees, ass in the air, elbows on the ground. She started to push up; Regina’s hand wrapped in her hair as the Champion’s body fell over hers, breasts flat against her back, forcing her back down._

_Somewhere, another woman giggled. The Savior tried to get up. Regina hissed in her ear, “Stay. Down.”_

_The hand wrapped in the Savior’s hair twisted and a slap rent the air. Regina’s free hand fell hard against the blonde’s flank. Once. Twice. Three times. Then the body and the hand in her hair were gone; the Savior had time for one confused breath before Regina slammed into her from behind. Three fingers penetrating without warning made her cry out._

_Someone clapped. Another person laughed. Then the Savior knew nothing but Regina’s solid strokes pumping in and out of her, rocking her forward on her elbows as an arm wrapped around her middle to keep her in place. She dropped her head to her forearms as she was pounded into over and over. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps._

_A hand that wasn’t Regina’s wrapped in the blonde’s hair and brutally pulled her head up, forcing her to look up. The Queen’s cruel smile looked down on her. “Harder, Champion. I think she likes it.”_

_A brief hesitation, a shift in body weight, then Regina folded in her fourth finger. The Savior yelled as sensation rolled over her, bucking her body against both women holding it, but there was nowhere to go._

_“Keep going. More.” The hand in her hair tightened, twisting her head around, wine was poured over her face. The Queen smiled. “Break her.”_

_The blonde cried out as she felt the Champion’s entire fist slide inside her. Regina twisted and pumped; her thrusts were shallow but more than anything the Savior had ever experienced. Her arms gave out and she would have dropped if not for the Queen’s hold. Her body crested again, tightening on the fist inside her, desperate to keep it inside her, needing to force it out. Tears rolled down her face as sensations she couldn’t name rolled over her in waves._

_“Please.”_

_She didn’t even know what she was asking for but the Queen laughed and released her. “Well done, Champion.”_

_The other ladies laughed. “Yes, well done, indeed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the like.”_

_“I know I’ll never see the Savior in the arena the same way again,” Ursula commented._

_Cruella dropped several gold pieces on the floor near them. “And the Champion remains undefeated.”_

_More laughter but the blonde just moaned as Regina carefully pulled her hand free, releasing the hold she had on the Savior. She moved quickly to ease the blonde over on her side, brushing her sweat soaked hair away from her face. “Savior? Come on.”_

_“No more,” the blonde pleaded. “Please.” She slowly curled her fingers into the sign of submission._

_Regina quickly covered her hand. “We’re done. It’s okay. We’re finished.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw the Queen ushering her guests out of the room. “But you’ve got to get up. We need to leave.”_

_The blonde whimpered as Regina pulled on her. She was exhausted; everything hurt. Her limbs felt like she had mud in her veins. She was pulled upright and her head was spinning._

_“Come on, Savior.” Regina tapped her face. Then with a growl, she surged forward, slamming her lips against the blonde’s._

_Green eyes flew open and locked with brown as Regina pulled back just enough to see her. Her thumb stroked the blonde’s cheek as they stayed locked in the moment. Apologies, hurt, concern, frustration, anger, confusion, lust flowed between them for that infinitesimal time._

_“Well done, gladiators,” the Queen said sweeping back into the room._

_Walls slammed back into place. The flat, empty expression of the Champion returned and she pulled the blonde up to her feet beside her. Regina quickly gathered up their clothes and coins, pushing the small bundle into the blonde’s hands before inclining her head respectfully. “Your Majesty.”_

_“For putting on a good show.” The Queen dropped another coin bag into Regina’s hand. She ran the back of her hand over the still dazed blonde’s cheek. “I shall have to have you again sometime.” Then with a wave of her hand she dismissed them. “See yourselves out.”_

The blonde stood at the edge of the cliff. She touched her fingers to her lips. Had there really been nothing to it? Had Regina simply been trying to get them out of there with their lives? It was entirely possible...and yet, since then, there had been hidden looks. The displays of jealousy. Fleeting expressions that were not the Champion’s usual look of disinterest. The Savior shook her head; Regina was right. She needed to forget this.

With a sigh, she began to head towards the barracks. As she passed Regina’s cell, she heard a grunt and the distinct slap of skin against skin. She frowned. The woman had just left her side and no one had been with her. Had she really found someone else to fuck that fast? She shouldn’t look. Regina would not appreciate the blonde invading the one single space that she could call her own. But before she’d consciously made the decision, the Savior found herself peering through the small window of the Champion’s cell.

Then she was bursting through the door and slamming into the ex-soldier that had a coil of rope wrapped around Regina’s neck. Regina fell forward gasping for air as the Savior and the soldier traded blows. They fell over the body of the former blacksmith before the blonde managed to slam the soldier into the wall. Stunned, she drove an elbow into his throat, dropping him.

“Regina!”

“They…were waiting…” The Champion clawed the rope away from her throat. “Ambushed...me.”

The Savior pulled Regina to her feet. “Well, he’s dead.” She glanced over to the one that Regina had felled before her arrival. “Not sure about the other.”

“Not dead, not yet.” She straightened, wiping blood away from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. “But he’ll wish he was.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning. Cora was unexpectedly standing on the balcony overlooking the training yard. She sipped from a cup of tea as she watched the gladiators slowly emerge for the day’s training. Her gaze was fixed on the door leading to the Champion’s cell. Regina had not yet come out to begin the day. Cora smirked and was about to signal for Charming to investigate why his Champion wasn’t emerging when her cell door unexpectedly opened.

Regina stepped out of her cell, adjusting the padding she wore on her forearms. She looked up to the balcony and fixed a defiant gaze on the Countess.

Cora glared at her, the bruises around Regina’s neck were the only sign something was amiss. The girl simply refused to die.

Then Cora watched as the Savior walked over to Regina and stood by her side, chin tilted up, eyeing the balcony.

“It would seem,” the Imp said, standing near Cora’s shoulder, “that the Savior has chosen a side.”

“Indeed.” Cora grimly saluted the two gladiators with her tea cup. “Another foolish girl.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Several Hours Earlier**

Standing in the Champion's cell, the Savior watched, still catching her breath, as Regina staggered over to her bed roll and pulled a knife out from beneath it. It was rather fancy with a carved bone hilt and a wicked curved blade. Not something a slave would ever own. “Where did you get that?”

Regina gave her a half glare as she coughed. “Young royals enamored with gladiators predictably have more possessions than sense.” Wiping the corner of her mouth, she surprisingly reached down and undid her attacker's pants, yanking them down. At the blonde’s raised eyebrow, she shrugged, checked the contents of a jug, took a swig, then straddled the blacksmith’s lower legs. She cleared her throat once more then dumped the contents of the jug over his head.

The former blacksmith sputtered into consciousness. The Savior stood behind Regina’s shoulder; arms crossed over her chest. His eyes widened when Regina held up the knife for him to see then quickly sliced downwards with it, pinning the blade right against his cock.

“Talk.”

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately then hissed as Regina presumably dug the blade in further against his flesh. “I didn’t…want to. I owe money-” He hissed again, flinching. “They said if I did this…it would clear all my debts.”

“Who is they?” the blonde asked.

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he looked at Regina. He started to shake his head, “They’ll kill-”

“You’re about to lose your cock,” Regina said calmly, shifting her weight with him as he tried to squirm away. “Tell me who sent you.”

Sweat and tears poured down his face, streaking through the remnants of wine. “The…the imp made the deal.”

The blonde’s eyes widened but Regina didn’t act surprised. “And Cora?”

He glanced between the two women, blinking rapidly. “He bore her sigil.”

“Of course, he did.”

“Why does she want to kill you so bad?” the Savior asked.

Regina ignored her. “Did anyone else know? The other recruits that came in with you?”

“Did Lily know?” the Savior demanded.

He shook his head. “No. I mean, not that I know of,” he rushed out. “No one else was there when he approached me.” He swallowed. “I…I think the other soldier might have been in on it, too, but then the Savior killed him.”

“Under Cora’s order!” the blonde said. “She had me kill the guy she just hired?”

“A message to these two about the importance of failing her,” Regina explained coldly. She twisted the knife further making him wince. “Anything else?”

He shook his head. “No. No, please, I’m sorry-”

“Shut up,” Regina said then sighed. “Congratulations, you’ve saved your cock.”

He whimpered as Regina withdrew the knife from where she’d been holding it. The blonde saw blood on the blade and chuckled. He might’ve saved his cock but not without-

Regina snapped the blade out, slicing it across the blacksmith’s throat with a strike almost too quick to see. He gagged, his hands immediately moving upwards to try uselessly to stem the flow of blood. The blonde stepped back as Regina uncoiled to stand over the dying man. She wiped the blood off the blade as the man quickly expired.

“We need to dump the bodies over the edge of the cliff,” she said tiredly. Turning to the blonde, she asked, “You get one, I’ll get the other?”

The Savior stared at her, slowly getting over her shock. It had happened fast but she couldn’t really blame the Champion; she hadn’t expected him to live. When Regina cocked an eyebrow at her, the blonde shook her head. “No.” She gestured at the blacksmith’s body. “Grab his feet. I’ll get his arms.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Savior had questions, and as they had to work together to drag out the bodies, she had a captive audience. “Why does Cora hate you so much?”

Regina grunted as she shifted the weight of the blacksmith’s legs. “Not really a great time, Savior.”

“It’s not like you’ll talk to me any other time,” the blonde grunted as they dropped the body at the edge.

“Please tell me you are not still going on about that night!” Regina practically growled as she pushed the body over the edge. They both leaned over to watch it drop into the shadows then Regina sat back on her heels. She pushed hair out of her face and caught sight of the blacksmith’s dried blood on her hands. “Cora hates me because…” She sighed heavily. “Because I ruined her life.”

Regina looked up and could see the consternation on the blonde’s face as she worked through what had been said. On the surface, it made no sense. If the Savior didn’t know the history, which she clearly didn’t, how could a simple gladiator ruin-

“Cora is my mother, Savior.”

The blonde’s mind ground to a complete halt. “What?!”

Regina pushed tiredly up to her feet. She laughed at how incredulous the Savior appeared. “Cora is my mother,” she repeated, heading back to her cell, the Savior right behind her. “I was not the dutiful daughter, and I ruined her chances at a better life.” She bent over to pick up the ex-soldier’s legs. “My father was from a noble house, lower nobility but still. He fell in love with my mother, a peasant, and married her. Our position in society was secure until…my father died.” They carried the body to the ledge. “Without my father, my mother held no title, no guarantees, but as long as she was still able to marry me off to another royal house, she’d be set for life. If the right suitor was found, she could improve her standings.”

Running a ludus wasn't the dregs of society but it wasn't nobility. “Well, clearly she hasn't moved up in the world.” They slung the body over the ledge. “What happened?”

Regina pushed hair out of her face as she stared out at the moon. “I fell in love with the stable boy.”

“And _that_ ruined Cora’s life?”

Regina looked sidelong at her. “I was only of value so long as I retained my purity.”

The blonde blinked at the implication. “Oh.”

Regina chuckled. “Yeah. _Oh_.” She started to trudge back to her cell. “One of my mother’s hand maidens caught us together, and as it turns out, she couldn’t keep a secret.”

_“Your heart is thundering,” she giggled, barely raising her head off his chest to tease him. “I fear I was too much for you?”_

_Daniel chuckled, shaking her as she laid draped over his body. “I’ll recover.” He took a few breaths. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”_

_“No, you didn’t hurt me.” Regina stacked her hands on his chest, propping her chin on them. “I love you, Daniel.”_

_“I love you, too,” he said, folding one arm beneath his head so he could see her better. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, loving how she relaxed against his palm. It was only in these stolen moments that she ever seemed truly at ease. The only time she could imagine how life could be out from under her mother’s rule. “Two more days, my love, and we’ll be free.”_

_Two days and her mother would take the majority of the gladiators to fight in the midsummer’s games. The guards would be fewer and they could sneak away. With any luck, they would have several days head start before her mother returned and noticed she was missing._

_“Regina?”_

_Regina froze at the sound of the hand maiden’s voice calling for her. Daniel’s widening eyes spurred her into action. She threw herself off of him and scrambled for her clothes as he did the same. Unfortunately, the boards of the hay loft creaked when she fell against them._

_“Regina, are you up there?” the woman called again. She was at the foot of the ladder. “Regina, is everything all right?”_

_“Snow! Wait, don’t!” Regina had heard the hand maiden climbing the ladder, but it was too late. She saw the woman’s head poke up over the side of the loft._

_“Oh.” Snow’s eyes widened at the sight of them. “I am…oh.” She quickly disappeared back down the ladder._

_“Shit!” Regina chased after her, her dressing gown barely hanging onto her shoulders. “Snow, wait! Stop.”_

_The command halted the hand maiden half-way down the row of stables. She didn’t look up as Regina rushed to her, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’m sorry,” Snow rushed out. “I’m sorry. I knew you snuck out and when you didn’t return, I wanted to check on you. I didn’t mean-”_

_“Snow, stop!” Regina snapped. Daniel frowned at her as he climbed down the ladder. They needed Snow on their side not motivated to tell on them, but Regina knew damn good and well that Snow was one of the worst gossips in the castle. She wasn’t malicious; she just couldn’t keep a single thought in her head to herself. Regina tried to calm her racing heart so she could sound composed._

_“Snow, I need you to listen to me.” The hand maiden nodded quickly, not looking up. Regina held her patience. “Snow, look at me.” She waited for the wide green eyes to find hers. “Snow, I need you to not tell anyone what you saw here tonight.”_

_“I didn’t see anything,” Snow said quickly._

_“Snow,” Regina tried again, “I know you think you saw something, but I need you to keep it to yourself. No one can know about tonight.” Daniel gestured at her from behind Snow’s back. She grudgingly added, “Please.”_

_That more than anything got Snow’s attention. She was just a hand maiden; Regina was the domina’s daughter. She was never cruel to Snow or the other servants, but she never said please…not to a servant. Snow looked down and was surprised to find Regina holding her hands. She was even more surprised that Regina was looking her right in the eyes, imploring her for help. “I won’t say anything.”_

_Regina’s shoulders dropped; her eyes closed. “Thank you, Snow,” she breathed. “That means a lot to me.” She glanced over Snow’s shoulder to Daniel. “It means a lot to us.”_

_Snow looked behind her at Daniel who smiled at her. He had always been kind to her and she liked Daniel. “I didn’t know.”_

_“No one does,” Regina said quickly. “No one can know about this. Not ever.” She squeezed Snow’s hands. “You must never speak of this. If my mother found out…”_

_Snow knew Cora would not take the news well. “I can keep a secret.”_

The Savior sat on the end of Regina’s cot as the Champion kicked dirt over the spilled blood in her cell. “Snow told Cora about your secret boyfriend?”

Regina nodded. “For the sake of my sanity, I tell myself Snow didn’t run straight to my mother to tell, but…” She sighed. “Knowing my mother, she took one look at Snow and knew she knew something.”

_“You wanted to see me, Mother?”_

_The vicious backhand to the face caught Regina completely by surprise and sent her sprawling._

_“YOU WHORE!!” Cora thundered and sunk a booted foot into her daughter’s gut. “Now we’ll never be able to leave this dirty hovel.” She was in a rage, kicking out again and again, ignoring the way Regina gasped and tried to curl in on herself. “You’ve destroyed everything!”_

_Regina cried out as her mother grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up to her knees. Blood dripped over her lips from a ragged cut caused by Cora’s rings. “Mother, please!” She reached up-_

_Cora slapped her hands away. “Don’t you dare touch me you filthy, wretched thing.” She spat on her face. “You disgust me.”_

_Regina had tears streaming down her face. The shock of pain was too much as she slumped again to the floor when Cora released her. Her mother had never hit her like this before, not where anyone could see it. Nothing that would leave a mark. Her ears were ringing as she tried to think- Daniel! This must be about Daniel. She sucked in a breath, fearful what her mother would do to him._

_Cora spun on her heel at the slight noise. Her eyes lit on her daughter’s face and her mouth twisted into a snarl. “And you dare think of him? Even now?”_

_Slowly, painfully, Regina used the wall to regain her feet. She sucked in a trembling breath. “What did you do, Mother?”_

_“You don’t even deny it.” Cora grabbed a dagger from the surface of her desk, stalked to her daughter and slammed her up against the wall. Anger and hate fueled the older woman’s strength as the blade nicked the tender skin of Regina’s neck. “I should kill you now and avoid the embarrassment.”_

_Regina tried to turn her head away, unable to look into her mother’s eyes that were black with fury. “Mother, please…”_

_But something else had drawn Cora’s attention. A discoloration on her daughter’s skin peeked just above the material of Regina’s skewed clothes. With a growl, she ripped the bodice down with her free hand, exposing her daughter’s chest and the love marks that dotted her skin. Regina whimpered as Cora gaped. “You let him mark you.”_

_Cora began to laugh, a cruel, humorless sound that chilled the air. “You foolish little girl.” The raging, burning fury she’d felt since she’d learned of Regina’s transgressions turned to ice in her veins. “I wonder.” Her hand dropped from the ruined bodice and smoothed a path down the younger woman’s abdomen. “How many of the other men around here, have you fucked?” She grabbed her daughter between the legs. “Just how loose is your cunt, daughter?”_

_Regina gasped at the harsh, cruel treatment. “No one! There’s been no one else.” She tried to meet her mother’s eyes. “I love him.”_

_They held like that, both breathing harshly, a mere flick of the wrist the only thing keeping one of them alive until a throat cleared from the doorway. Cora didn’t look away when she snapped, “What?”_

_“The boy has been found and brought to the training yard as requested,” the guard reported._

_“Good,” she said coldly, finally backing away from Regina. “I want him flayed until you can see the white of bone.”_

_Regina fell to her knees. “Mother, no! No, please, don’t do this!”_

_“GUARDS!” Cora called out. Four guards appeared in the doorway. “Bring my daughter down to the yard.” Two guards stepped forward and grabbed Regina under the arms. “Let her be close to her lover.” She gripped Regina by the jaw, staring into her tear stained face. “I want her to feel the spray of his blood. I want her to see his pain, knowing she’s the one that caused it; I want her to watch as his love turns to hate.” She released her hold and turned her back on her daughter. “Take her away.”_

Both women sat silently on the edge of the cot. Regina had never shared that story with anyone. It had been years since she’d forced herself to think about the events of that day. The Savior could hardly believe it. She knew cruelty existed in the world; she’d seen plenty and experienced her fair share, but for a mother to do…that. “She had him killed?”

“Right in front of me.”

She cleared her throat. “Your mom, she’s a piece of work.”

“Indeed.” Regina nodded. She glanced at the blonde, considered what she needed to say, then just said it. “And she has your son.”

The blonde straightened, her back going ramrod straight.

“You need to stay away from me, Savior,” Regina said. “She can’t know you were involved in…this.” She gestured around her small cell.

“I’m never going to see my son again, am I?”

The Champion studied her hands; there was dried blood beneath her fingernails. “She might allow you to see him, but she’ll never let you be with him.” She swallowed thickly. “At best, she’ll make him a house slave here. He’ll always be within easy reach for her to use him to motivate you however she chooses.”

The blonde scrubbed her hands over her face, dragging her fingers through her hair. “And at worst?”

Regina sighed deeply. “He’ll be another Daniel.”


	13. Chapter 13

Two weeks passed with barely a mention of the disappeared fighters. Once Cora had left the balcony, Charming had walked over and inspected the bruises on Regina’s neck. With a single raised eyebrow, he’d asked the question. With the Savior fidgeting beside her, Regina had given a very pointed look towards the edge of the cliff. Charming had chuckled, slapped the blonde on the shoulder, and begun the morning’s training.

It was early afternoon when Charming’s whip cracked over their heads. The Savior was working with Merida, trying to learn a reverse sword technique the redhead used, when all the sparring in the yard came to a halt. The fighters watched as Charming coiled the whip over his arm.

“We have guests coming for dinner. The Countess wants everyone properly bathed and oiled before they arrive.” His gaze scanned over all of them. “We will be on display in the great hall. If anyone acts out in any way, the consequences will be severe.”

The Savior caught Regina’s eye but the Champion just shook her head. She didn’t know what was going on either.

“Get something to eat and prepare yourselves,” Charming instructed. “The servants have laid out clean clothes for everyone.”

As everyone left, Regina found herself at Charming’s side. “My mother never does anything without reason.”

“It could just be a financial maneuver.” He held up a placating hand at her side-eye. “I know.” He saw the Savior standing near the tables, watching them. “The question is, is it a play against you or her?”

Regina looked away from the blonde, not wanting her to join them. “My guess would be her. My mother hasn’t addressed her defiance in helping me yet.”

“And she will,” he agreed. He rubbed at the scar on his chin. “Do we present the two of you together or apart?”

Regina considered it. “Apart. Might as well try to minimize the fallout.” She didn’t think it would work. “Place her between Ruby and Lily. They’ll have the best chance of holding her back from doing anything stupid.”

He nodded. “I’ll put Graham and Hook on either side of you.”

“Fine,” she growled and stalked off. She hated that he was right to do so.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was more than just one high-ranking guest; it was a party. All the gladiators were on display, rippling muscles highlighted with oils, wearing minimal white garments. The guests wandered past them sipping drinks as they openly admired. A few of the fighters, Killian and Ruby were the worst, openly flirted back. The Savior caught Regina rolling her eyes more than once as ladies gawked at the dark-haired ladies’ man.

“He’s only got one hand and still they fawn over him,” Graham muttered so only Regina could hear.

“Perhaps if you didn’t growl at them, they’d like you more,” she said back, eyes flashing dangerously at a noble eyeing her.

“And yet, the more you growl, the more they seem drawn to you.” He chuckled as the nobleman scurried away only to be replaced by two young noblewomen. They engaged Regina in giggled conversation for several minutes before running off, heads bowed together. “Your Savior doesn’t look too impressed with your followers.”

“They’re just silly noble girls.” She’d met them a few times before at celebrations and gatherings. They were simple and naïve, in awe of her for reasons she couldn’t fathom. Then she thought about what Graham said. “And she is _not_ my Savior.”

But angry, green eyes were glaring in her direction. Until Lily nudged the blonde in the side. “Cut it out.”

“What?” the Savior growled but faced forward, tearing her gaze away from Regina.

“If I’m not allowed to growl at all these women approaching Ruby, you can’t go all jealous girlfriend over the Champion,” Lily said through clenched teeth.

“She’s not- I’m not-” the blonde sputtered.

“You’re acting like you are,” Ruby sing-songed even as she smiled widely. “And she’s right, you need to stop.”

The Savior huffed out a breath. She wouldn’t admit it, but they were right. She’d felt a flash of anger, she refused to say it was jealousy, at every person that approached the Champion. She hated that they were forced to be on display and act like they enjoyed it. If she especially hated it for Regina’s sake, it was just because she was friends with the woman. Nothing more.

A gong sounded drawing the attention of all the guests to the hall’s entrance. Ruby’s smile fell. “Finally.”

“What is it?” Lily asked.

“Whoever the guest of honor is has finally arrived,” she said, rolling the tension out of her neck. “Now the attention will finally be off of us for a while.”

The Savior watched as Cora gestured for one of her men to step forward. He took a deep breath and announced, “The Honorable General Rahl.”

Regina’s eyes flashed to the blonde; the Savior had gone pale and rigid. The muscle in her jaw was easily visible, straining as she ground her teeth. Unimpressed and ignorant of who the general was, Lily accidentally caught Regina’s gaze as she looked around. She did a double take at the Champion’s glare then looked to the Savior beside her and immediately saw the change in her old friend.

Lily elbowed the blonde in the side to get her attention. When that didn’t work, she glanced around then quickly slammed her heel down on the Savior’s foot, breaking her concentration. It got Ruby’s attention as well as she saw the blonde stumble back a step. “What the hell-”

They both barely caught the Savior when she surged forward. “It’s him!”

Lily thumped her in the chest, pushing her back and mostly out of sight. “What’s the matter with you?” She slapped her across the face. “Savior!” The blonde finally focused on her old friend; Lily grinned. “That’s better. Now. You want to tell me what the fuck is your problem before you get us all thrashed?”

The Savior was shaking, trembling as unused adrenalin coursed through her. “He’s the one…the one that came to my village. He caught me after the battle, said I’d deserted.” She glared over Lily’s head looking for the general. “His men are the ones that took Henry.”

Lily glanced over her shoulder finally understanding; luckily, the bastard was nowhere in sight. “Okay, well-” Ruby cleared her throat and then Charming was standing in front of them.

“What the hell is going on over here?” he growled. “Get back in line.” He pushed Lily to the side. “Savior, pull yourself together.”

“That bastard knows what happened to my son!”

“I don’t care!” he snapped. “You will control yourself in his presence, Savior.”

“Or what? You’ll punish me?” She shook her head. “I don’t care.”

Charming pushed her back, slamming her into the wall, his forearm pressing into her throat. “You will care.” He trusted Ruby to block them from view. “Because it won’t be just you that suffers the punishment.”

She blinked. “What?” She tried to push him off and was unsuccessful. “What are you talking about?”

“The Domina won’t take it out on just you. She knows the best way to hurt someone is to take it out on those they care about.” He pulled back slightly. “She’ll destroy Lily to get to you. She’ll thrash Ruby and make you watch.” He watched her gaze dart over his shoulder to the two women. “And she’d love nothing more than to break Regina and blame you for it.” He hissed into her face. “I’ve seen her do it.”

The Savior slumped, partially collapsing against the wall. “I don’t…I don’t know what to do.”

Charming gripped her by the shoulders and pulled her up. “You’re going to stand there and let him say whatever the fuck he wants to. You’re not going to react; you’re not going to give him the satisfaction.”

“And when this is all over, we’ll go back to the yard and drink and laugh about how small his cock is,” Ruby interjected over her shoulder.

It was what the blonde needed to hear. She exhaled a broken chuckle, “Yeah, okay.”

“Okay?” She nodded to Charming. He said, “Okay. Be a fucking statue.”

She nodded. She could do that. She could do the thousand-yard stare. If she could get in the right zone, she wouldn’t even hear him. She moved back into position between Ruby and Lily. Took a steadying breath and found Regina’s eyes locked onto her. One dark eyebrow cocked upwards in question. She just shook her head in reply. She could do this; she had to be able to do this. She exhaled.

An hour later, her resolve would be put to the test.

~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*

“So, these are the beasts you claim to have tamed?”

The Savior flinched. The general’s drawl was very distinct; her reaction to it reminded her of claws against metal, a beast trying to escape entrapment. She’d been zoned out, but at the sound of his voice, her eyes flicked to the side. The general and his entourage were slowly making their way toward the gladiators; Cora was at his side.

“These are the finest gladiators in the realm,” Cora said, her voice tight. She didn’t sound as though the evening was going exactly the way she wanted.

Rahl stopped in front of Charming, standing at the beginning of the formation. “I watched you fight once. You cleaved three heads with one swing. Impressive.”

Charming inclined his head. “They lined up nicely for me; I felt obliged to accommodate.”

Rahl smirked, moving on until he stopped again in front of Regina. “And this is your current Champion?”

“Yes,” Cora said unable to keep the bite out of her voice. “Regina was hand-picked and trained by Charming.”

“Regina?” He touched her face, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “Your name means queen, does it not?”

“So I’ve been told,” she said, ignoring his too familiar touch.

“I have to admit…” He trailed his hand down her side to her hip. “If you were mine, I’d have you dressed in gowns like a proper lady, pretty as a portrait.” He traced his fingertips over her abdomen. “And what a waste of visuals that would be.” His gaze moved back to her face; her eyes were staring, unseeing past him. “Hmmm, later perhaps.”

He strolled past the collection of fighters. Merida, Mulan, and Robin were of no interest to him. He was truly only interested in the blonde. “Ah, the Savior.” He looked her over, saw how her muscles bunched and her hands clenched into fists. “So, you’re still alive.”

She tried to stare past him, her jaw was clenched so hard it hurt, her nails were digging into her palms deep enough to draw blood. It hadn’t escaped her notice that Charming now stood at Cora’s shoulder as well as the captain of her guard, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

“Cora, I must commend you. You’ve taught this beast some manners.” Rahl smirked. “She’s finally learned not to speak to those that are better than her.”

Green eyes briefly flashed to his before blinking and skittering away again.

Rahl laughed. “Still a coward, I see.”

“A coward, perhaps,” Cora interjected, “but one that fights well. I’d wager she could best any of _your_ men in the arena.”

Several heads whipped her way, shock and surprise on all of them. Rahl just chuckled, “Oh, Cora, still upset I didn’t want your fighters for my games?”

“Merely attempting to point out your fallacy for not including them,” she said, her voice like poisoned honey. “A demonstration, perhaps? To prove my point?”

He eyeballed the Savior, taking her in from head to foot. “Very well.” Green eyes finally met his and held. “The Savior against three of my men. Right here. Right now.”

“Three against one is hardly fair,” Cora argued. “If your men win, it hardly proves anything at all.”

“It will prove you are not worthy to have fighters in my games,” he sneered, “and the so-called Savior will be dead. A double win in my book.” He turned his back on the blonde. “Or do you retract your claim?”

“Charming,” Cora snapped, “fetch the Savior a sword.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The fight did not start well for the Savior. Cora’s warning that all the gladiators would be punished if she failed wasn’t exactly what she would call inspirational, and if Rahl’s soldiers had continued the fight the way they started, she would have died. The three soldiers moved in quickly like jackals. In quick succession, she took a punch to the face, a slash across her upper arm, and was felled by a boot to the back of her knee. The gathered gentry laughed and cheered at the spectacle. Rahl had made sure every guest came over to watch.

Her first advantage came when she spied a dagger in the boot of the soldier that felled her. When he came close again, presumably to kick her, she caught hold of his foot and pushed him back. He ended up on his back and she ended up with two weapons. The soldiers were suddenly a bit warier, backing off a step. They began to circle and she moved with them.

When she saw the first one raise his arm to charge, she beat him to it and rammed her shoulder into his chest pushing him backwards and off balance. She spun back to the other two, blocked once, ducked a strike and spun again, slamming the dagger into the upper thigh of the second one. A kick to the back sent her sprawling; she lost the dagger still embedded in the man’s thigh, but now it was only two against one.

She came up from her tumble with an uppercut to the second soldier’s chin; there was a satisfying crunch loud enough to make several of the nobility groan. His head snapped backwards at such an angle he dropped to the floor unconscious, blood pooling out of his mouth. She and the last man standing faced each other. She knew what the consequences were if she lost; she could only imagine how Rahl would punish him.

But that was his problem.

She attacked; their swords clanged loudly against each other; sparks flew as metal grated against metal. She ducked past him and caught an elbow to the head for her efforts. She shook it off and made the same move again. This time he thrust with his sword and she caught his extended arm, locking the elbow out before she pulled it down over her knee. He shouted in pain, and the crowd stepped back. The sword fell from his hand when his arm went numb, but he countered with his free hand. A grab and yank of her hair pulled her backwards and off balance. She staggered a few steps giving him time to regain his feet. One arm hung limply and disfigured at his side but he drew a dagger with his other. She glanced at Cora who nodded for her to finish it.

With a sigh, she waited for him to lunge. As soon as he did, she knocked his hand aside, spun past him and cracked the hilt of her sword against the side of his head. He dropped to the ground but then still tried foolishly to slash at her; she cracked his head two more times against the marble floor. He didn’t move again.

The crowd laughed and cheered, uncaring of who the victor was so long as they were entertained. The Savior faced the gladiators and got a nod of approval from both Charming and Regina. Then her gaze landed on Rahl and Cora. Breathing heavy, she uncoiled from her victory and waited for instruction. She half expected the general to send more men to fight her.

“Lady Cora,” Rahl said, gaze still on the blonde, “I believe you have proven your point. I want your gladiators, all of them, to fight in my games.”

The audience cheered and Cora inclined her head. “The House of Hearts is at your disposal, General.”

Rahl’s cold blue eyes held on the Savior. “I believe you said you had a gift for me.”

Cora blinked, her gaze flicking between the general and the gladiator. “Er, yes, but it was intended for your reception.”

“You may present it to me now.” When Cora hesitated, he looked to her. “Or shall I take my leave?”

Cora cleared her throat and then signaled to Snow to bring the gift. “It will just take a second.” She then gestured to Charming. “Take the Savior-”

Rahl cut her off, holding up one hand. “The Savior will stay right where she is.”

There was a curious murmur amongst the crowd and a growing tension in the gladiators. Regina and Charming shared a look that had Charming cautiously unfurling the whip at his side. The Savior still had a sword in her hand and three of the general’s best guards were unconscious on the floor. Regina moved quietly to the side until she had a clear path to the Savior if needed.

The crowd at the back of the room began to part and the blonde frowned as she saw Snow’s bright, nervous smile walking back. She seemed to be guiding someone in front of her, someone shorter than herself. The crowd parted and the Savior’s knees buckled. “Henry?”

The boy’s head snapped up, his eyes searching for that familiar voice. As soon as he spotted the blonde hair, he ripped away from the hand maiden’s grasp. “Mom!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The crowd grew uneasy as the bloodied gladiator dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the little boy that flung himself at her. No one moved for several moments as the boy’s voice whispered over and over to the blonde woman that shook with tears.

Cora and Rahl read the room. This was not how Cora had intended to hold the boy over the Savior’s head. The crowd’s sympathetic reaction for a mother’s love was not what Rahl had intended, but he could still salvage the situation. He raised his glass. “Congratulations to the Savior,” he announced, “for a match well fought.”

The gathered people cheered and the Savior’s tear-stained face lifted from her son’s shoulder. Her grip tightened around Henry’s shoulders as she remembered where she was. With the congratulations, the crowd began to go back to the party, mingling and eating, but Rahl and Cora watched her closely. The general’s guards and the gladiators were all watching.

The Savior slowly got to her feet, keeping Henry trapped against her side. Rahl’s crystal blue eyes were as cold as they’d ever been. “I should think you’d be inclined to show a bit of appreciation, Savior.”

She knew she was balanced precariously on the edge of a knife. Her first thought was obvious. The whole reason she and her son had been parted was because of the bastard standing so bold in front of her. Not to mention, he’d had nothing to do with finding her son; that had been Cora, bitch that she was had kept her word. Luckily, they were standing next to each other.

The Savior inclined her head in their direction. “You have my gratitude.” She felt Henry stiffen beside her and tightened her grasp, praying to whatever gods would listen he wouldn’t say something smart.

“Perhaps, their continued reunion could be moved to a more private location,” Rumple suggested, stepping forward from the shadows.

Cora jumped on the suggestion. “Yes, my office would be much more suitable and away from prying eyes.”

“No, I believe your gladiators have provided enough entertainment for this evening.” Rahl gestured with his hand and his contingent of soldiers stepped forward. “Have them all removed to the yard. It’s time for the beasts to return to their pen.”

Everyone hesitated; no one was sure if the Savior was included in his instruction or not. Rumple glanced between Cora and Rahl, Charming and the Captain of the Guard. He saw the way Regina watched the Savior, and the blonde’s hold on the boy. He cleared his throat. “And the boy?”

The corner of Rahl’s mouth pulled upwards. “Cora gifted him to me; he stays by my side.”

“No!”

“Mom!”

The Savior reached for the sword she had dropped; Charming’s whip cracked, the end wrapping around her wrist and pulling it away from the weapon. The soldiers pulled their swords and closed in tighter towards the gladiator. Henry reached for the sword only to have his mother pull him back.

“Henry, no!”

“Bring the boy to me.”

“NO!! You will not have my son!”

Three soldiers rushed forwards grabbing the Savior, wrenching her backwards. Rumple reached for Henry and caught a kick to his face from the blonde which offset her balance. The knot of soldiers and Savior tumbled to the floor. Another soldier grabbed Henry who tried fighting him.

“MOM!!” A thick, meaty hand clapped over the struggling boy’s mouth.

“HENRY!!”

“Silence her.”

“HENRY!!” The Savior was fighting against five of the soldiers. No weapons just brute, frantic strength. “HEN-” A sickening thud cut off the rest of her yell as she fell limp.

The sound of a second hit had Cora turning her head in time to see Hook and Graham supporting a dazed Regina between them. All of her gladiators were watching her, glaring, waiting for her reaction. She plastered on a smile. “Charming, see the gladiators to wine and food. The general has procured all of them for his games in two days’ time. I’m sure he’ll want them well sated.”

“Yes, Domina.” His whip cracked through the air. A few startled gasps were heard from guests that had lingered too close. Placated, the gladiators began to file out. Charming wound his whip as he reached Cora’s side. “And the Savior?”

“Have your guard put her in a cell in restraints,” Rahl answered. “I wish to speak to her when she wakes.”

Cora bit the inside of her cheek and gave a curt nod to Charming, dismissing him. She gestured for her guards to do as the general ordered. She looked around but the boy was nowhere in sight. “You knew the boy was her son. You knew I had him.”

“Of course, I did,” Rahl said when they were mostly alone. He watched as the Savior was dragged off, hanging limply between two guards.

“And you knew I was going to gift him to you at your reception.” That information had to have come from within her house and she wanted to know how.

“Subtlety isn’t exactly your style, Cora.” He had the nerve to smirk at her. “The entire countryside knew you were looking for him.”

“And what do you plan to do with him, now that you have him?” she asked. She’d at least had plans to use the boy to her advantage.

“The boy is no longer your concern.”


	14. Chapter 14

She barely noticed the scent of blood and sand heavy in the air. The sound of the roaring crowd just outside the arena gates was white noise. The only reason she grasped her swords was because Charming had shoved them forcefully against her chest.

A slap rocked her face; she barely blinked. Regina stood in front of her and grabbed her by the chin, forcing the blonde to look at her. “Wake up!”

The Savior didn’t fight her off. She just waited for whatever the Champion wanted to say to her. It didn’t matter; she didn’t care anymore. She _couldn’t_ care.

Regina glanced at Charming; he urged her to try again. They were running out of time before the match was announced. Mulan stood by stoically adjusting her gauntlets. The slight fidgeting was the worst sign of nerves anyone had ever seen from her. The chain that ran from her left wrist to the Savior’s right wrist jangled between them.

For lack of a better idea, Regina slapped the blonde again. When she still didn’t get a response, she sneered, “Maybe Rahl was right, after all.” The first flare of emotion in the flat green eyes gave her hope. “You’re nothing but a coward, unwilling to fight.”

The spark died out as quickly as it had flared. The Savior just looked away.

Regina scoffed and shook her head. “Only this time, you’re going to get Mulan killed as well.” She looked over to the Asian warrior. “Mulan, as soon as you get out there, cut her hand off, free yourself from this _burden_.”

Mulan’s eyebrows shot upwards; the Savior glanced her way at the suggestion but didn’t argue or offer protest. “That would not be my first choice of action,” Mulan admitted. When the blonde didn’t comment, she added, “However, I see its merit.”

The editor of the games began his announcement. Regina got in the Savior’s face and tried one more time. “Henry isn’t dead, but if you go out there and don’t fight, Mulan will be. And that death will be on your hands.”

The guards opened the gates for them to enter the arena. “I’m a slave, Regina,” the Savior finally spoke as she walked past, “the consequences of my actions are not my own.”

_Her head was pounding and the cold stone of the cell floor was unforgiving. She groaned and opened her eyes, wincing at the sound of the chain scraping against the floor as she moved her hand to her head. Heavy shackles adorned her wrists with chains sunken into the wall to restrain her._

_The sound of slow clapping had her looking up. General Rahl stood just inside the entrance to her cell. He stopped applauding as she got to her feet. They eyed each other for a moment before she pulled at her chains, trying to reach him. She snarled, “Where is my son?”_

_“Still an animal that needs to be taught manners, I see.”_

_“WHERE-?”_

_“WHEREVER I please!” he shouted over her. “Just know he is in my custody.”_

_She glared for a moment before breaking, backing down. “Please.” She had Rahl’s attention with the simple word. “Please, he’s innocent. He’s done nothing.”_

_Rahl considered her. “That’s true I suppose. But.” He held up a finger. “You have.” He glared her down. “You deserted. You broke the lines and began a retreat. You lost the battle under my banner. You brought disdain to my house!”_

_“The battle was already lost,” she tried._

_He ignored her utterance of the truth. “And then, in the arena, you grieved me again when you refused to die.”_

_“Then take my life,” she offered eagerly. “Take my life and let the boy go.”_

_Rahl smirked. “Oh, we’re long past that, Savior.” He sneered the name. “You see, you’re in no place to bargain, and your life is no longer yours to give. If I wanted you dead, all I have to do is whisper the command.” He leaned closer. “Do you really think you’d still be alive right now if I didn’t wish it so?”_

_The blonde frowned. He’d wanted her to die in the arena; now he didn’t want her dead? “What do you want of me? Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”_

_He laughed humorlessly and stepped back out of the cell. “I want you to suffer, Savior.” He closed and locked the door. “I want you to live with the knowledge that I have your son. I will do with him whatever I please. He will be mine until the day you die, and then, he will join you in death.”_

In the arena, the blonde brought her sword up to block without conscious thought. The blow that had been aimed at her neck sent a jarring reverberation down her arm that brought her back into the present. Muscle memory kicked in and she blocked two more attacks without even trying. Mulan had already killed one opponent and was battling a second.

The Savior blinked and looked around. Three pairs of chained fighters had entered the arena. She and Mulan were the only duo still intact. She heard Mulan grunt as she held off another brutal assault. The man she was fighting was huge and had done what Regina suggested Mulan do. The only thing left on the other end of his chain was a severed hand, which the Savior was forced to duck as he swung it around like the end of a mace.

With a growl, the blonde blocked her opponent once more then ran him through with her blade. As soon as his body slid off her sword, she and Mulan began to work as one. The Asian fighter gave her a very relieved glance when she finally engaged.

Working together, they made short work of their opponent. As he stood swinging his macabre weapon, they charged, pulling the chain taut between them. They took him out by his neck, knocking him to the ground. Mulan delivered the killing blow before he regained his feet. The crowd cheered but the Savior simply dropped her weapon onto the sand beneath her feet.

By the time they returned to the barracks that evening, the Savior had returned to her solemn mood. She had fought to stay alive; it had been instinctual. She hadn’t been able to simply accept her fate which meant…what? Henry’s suffering at Rahl’s hands would continue until she was finally cut down? What would he have to endure for the following weeks or months until she was in the arena again? But she knew her son. He wouldn’t thank her for getting herself killed either. He’d want her to fight…wouldn’t he?

Before she could enter the corridor leading towards the cells, a hand reached out and caught her by the arm. She was yanked backwards and pulled towards the yard. She slapped at the hand and attempted to twist away only to find she was held by an iron grip. Her eyes flew upwards and found Regina dragging her out. The few gladiators sitting at the tables rattled their cups against the boards, yelling their encouragement as the Champion pulled the Savior towards her private cell.

“Regina!” The Savior growled as she was shoved inside the Champion’s cell. “What the hell-?”

The air was knocked from her lungs as she was pushed forcefully back against the wall. The Champion was slightly smaller than the blonde but her full body weight pinned her against the wall. The Savior immediately tried to push her off but found the Champion to be immovable. “Regina-”

“Shut up,” the Champion snapped, pinning her more forcefully by the shoulders.

The blonde caught her eyes then as they were barely inches away from her own. The dark brown was almost black in the low light but they were shining bright. It looked as though the Champion was on the verge of tears; the Savior frowned, her mood shifting, “Regina? What-”

The brunette ducked her head. “Graham is dead.”

“What?” the Savior exhaled the exclamation. He’d been scheduled to fight just before the primus. She hadn’t seen him when they’d returned, but she’d just assumed he’d been held back for other services. He’d never lost before to her knowledge. “How?”

The tears were gone as Regina glared for a moment. Then she relented, “He blocked; his opponent spun and hit him with a reverse blow. The sword went right through his chest.”

It wasn’t a simple move but it was one she’d seen him counter many times; the Savior was stunned. Then Regina hit her again, slamming back into her after giving space while thinking about Graham.

“And you,” Regina hissed, “fool that you are almost got yourself killed today as well!”

She couldn’t argue but she was in no mood. “What do you care?”

The blonde pushed her off, but Regina recovered quickly planting her hand on the wall beside the Savior’s head. The brown eyed gaze bore into her, searching, piercing her as deeply as any sword. Their breath mingled as the moment held before Regina’s scarred lip curled, “You really are an idiot.”

Regina stepped back, releasing her hold on the blonde and turning away. “Get out.”

But the Savior shot out a hand and caught her around the wrist. “Wait.”

Regina tried to jerk her wrist free with a snarl and quickly found their positions reversed as the blonde pulled her back and used her body weight to pin her against the wall. Regina swung for her head, but the Savior leaned out of the way, then caught her by the wrist and trapped it above her head. She did the same with her other hand when Regina tried again.

“Let go of me,” Regina growled, dropping her weight, preparing to strike with her legs.

The blonde shifted her hips; her thigh straddled Regina’s. “Cut it out, Regina.”

“No,” the Champion growled back, suddenly yanking one of her wrists free and twisting out of the pin. They rolled against the wall until the blonde’s back was once again against it. She’d regained her hold of Regina’s wrists and held them behind the Champion’s back, but the Champion had her leg between the blonde’s. Her thigh dangerously close to the Savior’s center. “Enough!”

Their chests were both heaving from their exertions, pressed together as they struggled against each other. Then Regina closed the distance between them, her mouth attacking the blonde’s, tongue driving inside, taking advantage of the open invitation.

It took her a second, but then the blonde was giving back everything that was being thrust upon her. She let go of Regina’s wrists in order to tangle her fingers in the dark silken hair. She pushed off the wall in an attempt to get closer, and felt it all the way down to her core when Regina shoved her back with a low growl. The Champion’s freed hands moved over shoulders and roamed across exposed flesh, nails trailing over her ribs before clutching fiercely at her hips.

The Savior wrenched her head back with a gasp when Regina’s thigh drove upwards between her legs. The woman smirked unapologetically as she continued to grind against her; her pink tongue flicked out to lick at a smear of blood on her lips. It was only then the Savior realized she could taste copper in her mouth as well. “You bit me?”

“Only a little.” Regina’s hands were on the blonde’s hips, racing upwards, insinuating themselves beneath the coverings she wore over her breasts. She leaned in; mouth wet on the blonde’s neck as she made short work of uncovering the flesh she wanted. Her head dropped, the hot mouth wrapping around the blonde’s stiff peak.

“Shit!” the Savior’s head flew back against the wall and she brought one hand up to cup the back of Regina’s head, holding her in place, never wanting her to move. She ground her teeth together when the Champion bit down and swatted her hand away.

The Savior smirked then began her own explorations. This was not the time for learning though; her hands were frenzied as she went straight for Regina’s hips. She grasped at the leathers wrapped around the Champion’s waist and began to loosen them, unfastening the material just enough to push it down and out of the way. Regina’s hand slammed against the wall beside her head when the Savior slipped not one but two fingers inside her.

Eyes blown black with lust locked onto green as the Savior began to thrust against rocking hips. She missed the mouth that had been working feverishly against her skin, but took great pride in the way it now gaped, slack jawed when she pressed her thumb against the Champion’s clit. Regina whimpered just before she came, clenching around the Savior’s driving fingers. For a moment, she slumped forward, head resting against flesh, barely holding herself up as she tried to catch her breath. Her efforts weren’t helped by the Savior continuing to rub against her clit; a smirk on her face when Regina finally raised her head.

“Off,” Regina growled, batting the blonde’s hand away. Then it was her turn to smirk as she dropped to her knees and ripped the Savior’s coverings down past her knees. “My turn.”

~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Why did you call me an idiot?”

Regina lifted her head to gauge the blonde. For their second round, they had actually made it to Regina’s bunk. Afterwards, she had somehow ended up tucked up against the Savior’s side. She’d never before kept any lovers in her bed after their exertions; it had always been a release for both sides and then a parting of ways. She found she didn’t hate it. “Because you could’ve been killed today.”

The blonde stared up at the ceiling. She couldn’t really refute that. “Yeah, but…is that why you called me an idiot?”

Regina didn’t answer immediately. She found herself thinking of Daniel, wondering if he’d ever doubted her feelings. When she felt the Savior take a breath, probably to say something into the silence, she said, “I care about you, Savior.” Her hand rested on the blonde’s chest and she moved her thumb back and forth in an idle caress. “We live in a world of blood and death where life holds very little meaning, and yet, I’ve come to care for you.” She sighed. “I suppose that makes me an idiot too.”

The Savior gently laid her hand over Regina’s, stilling her thumb. The slight caress was very distracting when she didn’t want to be distracted. Not from the beautiful, scarred soul that was tucked into her side. She tightened her hold and stretched to kiss the top of the Champion’s head. “My idiot.”

Regina pinched her side. “Never say that again.”

The Savior chuckled, her hand stroking over Regina’s back. She felt the raised welts of scarring as they passed beneath her fingertips. She could only imagine the suffering Regina must have endured to have such scars, and she wanted to ask, truly she did. Instead she said, “I didn’t always live in a world like this.”

“Neither did I,” Regina admitted quietly. “We can’t keep living like this.”

“This isn’t living,” the blonde muttered. “This is surviving.”

“Barely. Day in and day out, fighting for our lives. Not just against outsiders but always having to watch our backs here as well.” Regina pushed up to her elbow so she could see the Savior’s face. “And my mother will never stop coming. Not until I’m dead.”

The blonde reached up, tucking a lock of hair back behind Regina’s ear. “What can we do about it?”

Regina gave the blonde a long, calculated look then said, “We kill them all.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note of thanks to the commenters. Your expressed enjoyment of the story means the world to me. You are inspirational. I can not thank you enough for the encouragement and I sincerely hope all of you, any lurking readers, and/or kudos-ers continue to enjoy!

“In honor of General Rahl’s support for the House of Hearts, I give you tonight’s entertainment.” Standing on the balcony, Cora waved her hand towards the yard. “Tonight, you will view the fight that everyone in the realm has been clamoring to see, but only the privileged few will witness. The Savior has challenged Regina, the undefeated Queen of the Arena, for the mantle of Champion. And since there cannot be two Champions under one roof, this fight will be to the death.”

The nobles gathered on the balcony murmured, surprised at such an outcome. Rahl was the only one unimpressed; he held his glass out to Snow to be refilled.

In the yard, all of the gladiators for the house stood in a line along the edge of the cliff. Guards from the house formed a line at the other end of the yard. A contingent of guards that Rahl had brought with him unexpectedly were in a line under the balcony. Standing in front of the gladiators, Charming handed Regina her two swords.

“There are too many armed guards,” he said under his breath. “This was not the plan.”

“We’re committed.” She rolled her shoulders. “If we back out now, either the Savior or I die tonight, and whoever is left will never get another chance.”

He looked back over his shoulder towards the blonde. Ruby was standing at her side having just delivered her swords to her. “One of you or all of us? I might take those odds.”

“All of us or all of them.” She tucked her chin towards the balcony and all the nobles with Snow in their midst. Charming grunted. “You’ll give Snow the signal?”

With a sigh, he slapped her on the shoulder. “Make it look good.”

Ruby and the Savior watched Charming slap Regina on the shoulder. The Savior said, “Make sure the thief does his job or this will all be for naught.”

“Lily is with him, and if he tries to double cross us like you suspect, she’ll kill him.” She eyed Regina. “You need to focus on the fight in front of you and let us worry about the rest.”

The blonde gave her a side glance. “It’s not going to be a real fight.”

“Regina will make sure it looks like one.”

“What does that mean?”

Ruby grinned and backed away. Cora held her hand up in the air and brought it down in a slashing motion. “BEGIN!”

~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**_ 10 Days Earlier _ **

_Regina gave the blonde a long, calculated look then said, “We kill them all.”_

_The Savior eyed her, began to scoff only to realize the Champion was serious. She sat up. “What?”_

_Regina shifted backwards, making room for the blonde. She kept her hand on the Savior’s thigh. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, but I’ve always needed someone I could trust and the right opportunity for it to work.”_

_“For what to work, exactly?”_

_“It only works if we kill them all,” she said quietly. “Every guard, every noble, not one of them can leave the house. If we do that, we’ll have time before anyone notices, and we can make it to the mountains and be free.”_

_“But,” the blonde sputtered, “I don’t…I mean, it’s going to take more than just the two of us.”_

_“Hook and Charming will fight with us.”_

_“Charming? Really?”_

_“He can never be with Snow as long as they’re both slaves,” she explained. “If he’s got a chance, he’ll go for it.”_

_The blonde accepted that. “I know Lily would fight.”_

_“As would Ruby,” she said. “The others will seize opportunity when they see it. Once the fighting starts, I can’t think of a single gladiator that would stand against us.” She cocked her head. “Besides, once the first blow is struck, it would be to their disadvantage to do so.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_Regina regarded her. “If one slave attacks their domina, all slaves will be put to death.”_

_The Savior paled, swallowed thickly. “So, it really is an all or nothing proposition.”_

_“We either win it all or we lose everything.”_

_The blonde got up to pace. Regina threw a shift at her lest the guards see her nakedness. They’d seen it before but there was no reason to invite an audience. After several minutes passed with no further comment from the blonde, Regina asked, “What are your thoughts?”_

_She stopped pacing and faced the Champion. “If you’ve been thinking about this for years, I’m sure you have the details covered.”_

_“They are not covered yet but I have ways to accomplish our goal.”_

_“Then I have only one concern of note that you couldn’t have considered.”_

_Regina inclined her head. “Henry.”_

_The blonde nodded. “What happens to him if we fail?” She scrubbed her hands over her face. “What happens to him if we succeed?”_

_“There are two possibilities,” Regina conceded, “both of which are linked to the opportunity I mentioned.”_

_She cocked her head to the side. “What opportunity?”_

_“We can’t do this on just any given day, but in ten days’ time, your General Rahl will return to this house.”_

_The blonde’s expression darkened at the mention of his name. “Why?”_

_“It’s what his games were all about. If he wants to gain any further standing in the realm, he must support a house. It’s why my mother was so displeased when he didn’t have any of her fighters in his games.” She stood. “Without us in the games, she stood no chance of gaining his support. Now that she has secured it, her position amongst the nobles will be elevated.”_

_“So, by winning, we elevated Cora?” She asked in disbelief._

_“Think of it as irritating the general,” Regina suggested. “You think he wanted to support the house that holds you?”_

_The blonde conceded the point. “What happens in ten days?”_

_“Rahl returns here for a reception and official recognition. Trust me when I say my mother will make sure it’s a spectacle. All the nobles from surrounding lands will be invited.”_

_“And Henry?”_

_“Assuming Rahl wants to continue to torture you, I’m sure he’ll bring the boy with him.”_

_“And if he doesn’t?”_

_Regina took hold of her hands. “We bring death to Rahl’s door and find your son.”_

_The Savior looked down at their joined hands and nodded. “What’s your plan?”_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*_

**_ 9 Days Before the Fight _ **

_Regina sat at her table eating their noon day meal; the Savior did the same at a different table. They both watched as the former thief made quick work of his food then put away his bowl and headed back towards the barracks. The Champion caught the blonde’s eye; they both followed._

_“What’s his name again?”_

_Regina rolled her eyes. “Baelfire.”_

_“What the hell kind of a name is that?” She asked, mostly rhetorical as they approached the man in question hunched over his bunk. “You know, it takes a real idiot to steal from gladiators.”_

_The man spun around so fast he almost fell over, hiding his hands behind his back. To his credit, he covered his reaction quickly and relaxed, even managing to give them both a smirk. “Hey ladies, I didn’t hear you come in.”_

_“We didn’t want you to,” the blonde said while Regina chose to remain quiet. Her presence was menacing enough._

_Baelfire cleared his throat. “Right.” He gave a little chuckle. “So, uh, what can I do for you?”_

_“Give back whatever you just lifted from whichever gladiator you stole it from before they discover your theft and kill you.”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, bringing his hands out from behind his back and making a show of letting them see they were empty._

_Regina slowly pulled a dagger out from behind her back and scraped the tip of it beneath one of her nails._

_He swallowed thickly but stared at the Champion’s chest for a beat too long and the Savior slapped the back of his head. “Hey, Bae-fuck! Eyes up.”_

_She shoved him in the chest for good measure, staggering him back a step. A gold coin dropped from inside his bracer, falling to the floor between the three of them. They all looked down at it then the two women looked back at him. The Savior said, “You want to try that lie again?”_

_He held up a hand. “I’ve never stolen from any of the other gladiators; I swear. I’m a thief not stupid.”_

_The blonde kicked the coin towards him. “Then where did this come from?”_

_Baelfire rubbed the back of his neck. “I lifted it from the pocket of one of the guards.”_

_“You stole from a guard?”_

_He shrugged like it was no big deal._

_Regina smirked. “Perfect. We need you to do it again.”_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

** Present **

Their swords clashed together hard enough that sparks flew off of them. Their blades scraped against each other until their hilts locked. “Easy, Champion,” the blonde hissed. “Try not to kill me right before we escape.”

Regina smirked. “I’ll try not to.”

They broke apart by pushing off of each other. The Savior risked a glance up to the balcony and saw Snow still standing at Cora’s side. Then she had to duck and roll as Regina almost took her head off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**_ 8 Days Before the Fight _ **

_Charming opened the door to his cell, the frown on his face easing when he saw Regina. “It’s late.”_

_“I had to wait for the imp to go and ply his tongue to my mother’s ear.”_

_The trainer stepped aside, gesturing for Regina to enter. “Then I take it you are not here for a casual drink.”_

_She shook her head. “I’ve come to call in a debt.”_

_Charming frowned. “I wasn’t aware I owed you anything.”_

_“No, you don’t,” she admitted. “If anything, I owe you.”_

_“Then what-?”_

_“Snow.”_

_His bearing stiffened. “What about her?”_

_“She owes me.”_

_He folded his arms over his broad chest. “That was a long time ago, Regina.”_

_“And the debt has never been paid,” she argued. “And despite her claims of innocence, I believe even Snow would be hard pressed to suggest she had nothing to do with Daniel’s death.”_

_“She did not set out to hurt you.”_

_“And I do not set out to hurt her,” she said. “Quite the contrary, actually. I seek to free us all.”_

_His blue eyes widened before he took a step closer and lowered his voice. “You speak of dangerous things.”_

_“I speak of the only things that will ever see us have a life outside these walls. I speak of a way for you to be with your beloved Snow as a true husband and not some secret rendezvous in dark corners.” She kept her voice as quiet as his. “I speak of a way that will see us live outside of these walls and out from beneath my mother’s control.”_

_He searched her eyes. “You speak of death for us all.”_

_“Only if we fail.”_

_Charming shook his head. “No.” He stepped back. “No, we are not talking about this at all.”_

_“You would risk Snow’s life?”_

_“You risk it!” He pointed at her. “You would see her killed with whatever favor this is you wish to ask of her.”_

_“I ask nothing more than she has done before every time she meets with you.” When he frowned, she said, “I need her to unlock the upper gate to the main castle.”_

_Understanding widened blue eyes, but he shook his head. “No. If it is freedom you seek, there are other ways to achieve it.”_

_“How? By winning in the arena?” she asked rhetorically. “I’m the Champion of this house. I am the Undefeated Queen of the Arena. I have been for years. Where is my freedom?” She cocked her head to the side. “For that matter, where is yours? You never lost; you’ve been ever-loyal and yet here you rot.”_

_He glared at her. “Your father and I spoke on the matter. He said-”_

_“My father is long dead and gone, Charming.” She spat the words out. “You are the best trainer of gladiators in all the realm. Cora will never let you go.” She watched him consider her words. “And you are a fool if you think my mother doesn’t know about you and Snow.”_

_His head snapped up. “What?”_

_“Everyone knows about you and Snow,” she said, mildly surprised he thought it was an actual secret. “Which means, Rumple knows, and if Rumple knows, so does my mother.” She rolled her eyes. “Snow is my mother’s hand maiden. She knows things my mother wouldn’t want anyone knowing. She’ll kill Snow before she would ever grant her freedom.”_

_When he still seemed unwilling, she pressed, “Not to mention the fact that she could give Snow away at any time…to any one she wants.” His eyes darkened; Regina met them. “Are you so naïve that you think my mother wouldn’t grant a nobleman a night with your precious Snow if one so much as offered the right amount of coin or influence?” She was quickly becoming irritated with his willful ignorance. How had he not thought of all the worst-case scenarios? “I was her daughter, Charming, and she was willing to sell me to the highest bidder. Do you really think a slave would fare better?”_

_His shoulders dropped. “What would you have me do?”_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

** Present **

Regina’s back hit the dirt hard. She glared up at the blonde before rolling quickly to the side to avoid a stomp to the face. She spun and got back to her feet. She risked a glance over the Savior’s shoulder and saw Lily casually leaning against one of the columns; she raised a bloody hand in salute. Baelfire was nowhere in sight.

Regina locked her sword against the Savior’s. “Lily has the lower gate open.”

“Just Lily?”

“It would appear so.” It didn’t really surprise either of them.

“Give Charming the signal.” The blonde smirked, “Sorry about this.” She put her boot in the Champion’s chest and flipped the brunette over her head, sending her rolling, colliding against Charming and several of the house guards. The flip was a move they had worked on before, a bit of razzle dazzle that the crowds loved to see.

On the balcony, Cora frowned, recognizing the move. The two women were putting on a great fight as far as the crowd around her was concerned. But she’d watched her gladiators enough to know when they were fighting and when they were putting on a show. She turned towards Rahl. “General, I hope you’re feeling satisfied.”

“I’d be more satisfied if your Champion spilled the Savior’s blood,” he snarled. “She is long overdue for a well-deserved death.”

“I could say the same thing about Regina,” Cora said. “She has disappointed me many times by refusing to die.”

He barked out a short humorless laugh. “Finally, something we have in common.”

“Speaking of the Savior,” Cora said, “did you bring the boy with you this trip?”

“Of course,” he snapped, then regarded her more closely. “Why do you care?”

“You should have him brought to the balcony.” She gestured lazily towards the ongoing fight. “If you want the Savior distracted, let her see him standing at your side.”

He considered her point. “Why would you recommend an action that would see your daughter win?”

Cora sighed like she carried the weight of the world. “If the boy distracts her, the Champion wins, you’re satisfied and I continue to rake in the gold with a reliable Champion.” She smiled without it reaching her eyes. “Or maybe the boy inspires his mother and she slaughters Regina without hesitation.”

Rahl regarded her then snapped his fingers. One of his men stepped forward. “Fetch the boy from my chambers.” The man bowed his head and left the balcony. “If the Savior wins, I’ll kill the boy in front of her. She’ll react like the beast she is and my men will destroy her. You’ll be out two Champions in one night and I’ll be able to withdraw my support for your house.” He sipped his wine, enjoying Cora’s sour expression. “You’re reaching out of your league, Cora. You have been since the day you purchased the Savior. It’s time someone put you back in your place.”

He turned his back on her and she gripped the railing hard enough to whiten her knuckles. The fight below continued and Cora never noticed Snow slip away from the balcony.


	16. Chapter 16

**_ 6 Days Before the Fight _ **

_Charming dropped his plate next to Regina’s and sat down at her table. “Please tell me that scene you made last night wasn’t your big plan.”_

_Regina grimaced. “It was distasteful but necessary.” She pushed her food around. “And it was just that – a scene. A small scene in the bigger picture.”_

_After the previous day’s training, in the early evening when the gladiators had been lounging around, shooting dice, Regina had made an entrance. She’d eyed the Savior, sitting next to Baelfire, and strutted straight over to Robin. She’d straddled his lap and commandeered his mouth with her own. After the initial jaw drop of surprise, Robin responded enthusiastically, running his hands up and down her back until he gripped her by the ass. Wolf whistles and shouts rang out from gladiators finally breaking the two apart when Regina came up for air. She’d slid off Robin’s lap, taken him by the hand and led him towards her cell. If she’d hip checked the Savior’s table on her way out, that of course hadn’t been on purpose._

_Charming chewed his food then pointed with his fork towards Robin, sitting happily with Merida and two other gladiators. “And did he know he was just a pawn?”_

_“He found out when I almost broke his wrist and told him not to ever touch my ass again.”_

_Charming laughed and shook his head. “Is he with us?”_

_“Yes.” She stiffened when she saw the blonde emerge from the barracks with Baelfire right behind her. Regina grimaced, “And I apologize now for the headache I will cause you today.”_

_Charming’s startled blue eyes looked up at her. “Headache? Why? What-?”_

_Regina pushed to her feet, walked over and shoved Baelfire away from the Savior. “Stay away from her; she’s mine.”_

_Baelfire staggered backwards, hands up. “Okay, okay,” he chuckled. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”_

_“Yours?” The Savior grabbed Regina’s arm and spun her around. “What the hell, Regina? I don’t belong to you!”_

_Regina scoffed, pulled her arm free. “Are you kidding, Savior? Your ass has been mine for months. The only thing missing is a brand on your skin declaring you my property.”_

_“Okay, whoa, hey!” Ruby got in between them. “Let’s just calm down, yeah?”_

_Lily chuckled from her seat at the table next to them. “Fuck that, I’d love to see them trash each other.”_

_“You shut your mouth.” Regina jabbed a finger towards Lily. “You should be thankful Ruby rode your ass without giving you time for the Savior, or I’d have trashed you already.”_

_Lily stood up, her shoulder bumping in to the blonde’s. “Is that right, Champion?” She pointed at Robin. “And what about Forest boy over there? Were you thinking about the Savior when you were riding him last night? Or was he the one taking you like the bitch you are?”_

_Regina lunged for Lily, held back by Ruby and ironically Baelfire, while the Savior pushed Lily back. Charming’s whip cracked through the air. “ENOUGH!”_

_He stomped over to stand between the two parties. “That’s enough. Regina, go work the palus. Everyone else, since you seem to have extra energy this morning, conditioning drills. Now!”_

_There was a series of groans and benches scraping as the gladiators moved to follow Charming’s orders. When Regina tried to move past him, he shoved her back. “What the hell was that?”_

_She glared at him as the eating area emptied. She jerked her chin silently towards the stairs and Charming saw Rumple clear the last few steps before he was out of sight. “If your opinion is asked, make sure to mention the growing discord between me and the Savior.” She thumped his chest as she moved past him. She turned just before she hit the yard. “Oh, and Charming? It’ll get worse before it gets better.”_

_The next morning saw Regina in chains in the back cell and Charming being called up to see Cora. The night before, after the day’s training, Baelfire had gotten what he wanted out of the deal. His hand on the Savior’s ass, pulling her into his lap as they kissed, had been his requested payment. Apparently, he’d made some bets of his own upon arriving at the house, thinking he could win the Savior over with his charm. He’d, at least, timed his move well, waiting for Rumple to be present. The imp had been downright gleeful when Regina had walked into the area to find them grinding against each other in the corner._

_Regina hoped Baelfire thought it had been worth it now that he had a broken nose. She had not pulled her punches with him. The Savior had pulled her off him, calling her a crazy bitch. Lily and Ruby had stayed out of it, having been brought into the plan during the day. When Charming appeared, he’d thrown Regina in the cell for the night to cool down. A typical punishment for fighting between two gladiators._

_While Regina was being released to begin the day’s training, Charming stood in front of the domina. “I understand there was a bit of a disturbance last night,” she said. “Is that true?”_

_Charming glared at Rumple standing near her desk. “It was nothing, Domina. Merely a disagreement between two of the gladiators.”_

_“A disagreement between Regina and the Savior is not nothing, Charming,” she argued. “What I want to know is if it is a small thing or likely something that will fester?”_

_He sighed. “I believe it is something that has been festering for a while.”_

_“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”_

_He cleared his throat. “The Savior has shown an interest in one of the new male fighters, and,” he glared again at Rumple for good measure, “the Champion has also shown an interest.”_

_Cora frowned. “An interest with the male fighter?”_

_Charming shook his head._

_Cora’s smile widened. “The Champion is jealous over the Savior?”_

_“Like I said,” Charming tried, “it’s nothing. A simple spat that I’m sure will blow over. A few days of hard training will realign their priorities.”_

_“Of course, I’m sure it will.” Cora nodded, smiling with a glance at Rumple. “So, you’ll take care of it?”_

_“There will be no more fighting,” Charming said. “I assure you.”_

_“Good. You’re dismissed.” Cora watched him leave, saw the lingering look between him and Snow as they passed each other. She rolled her eyes then turned to Rumple. “Have the Savior brought up to me after today’s training. I think it’s time she and I had another chat.”_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Regina caught a signal from Charming as she elbowed the Savior in the back of the head. Snow had done her part; both gates were open. It was time for them to make their move. She spun on her heel, expecting to meet a charge from the Savior only to find the blonde with her guard completely dropped, staring up at the balcony.

Regina glanced upwards. “Fuck!”

Henry was on the balcony.

~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**_ 5 Days before the Fight _ **

_The Savior was brought to Cora’s office after the evening meal. She’d felt Regina’s focus on her like the sun as she was led out. Cora signaled for the guards to leave once the Savior had been brought inside. Cora tried staring her down but the blonde simply rolled her eyes and looked away, unintimidated and uninterested._

_“You fought well against Rahl’s men, Savior,” she said finally to break the ice. The blonde’s gaze flicked to her and then off again. Cora bristled, “Less well in the arena against a chained man.”_

_The Savior’s jaw flexed. She couldn’t appear too eager. “You gifted my son to Rahl.”_

_“Gifted is a rather inaccurate term.” She had intended to gift him, of course, but she hadn’t meant for the Savior to know that. “The general rather demanded him.”_

_“And how did he know anything about my son to begin with?”_

_Cora stalled then said, “Apparently word got out that I was searching for him.”_

_The blonde scoffed, “How would that happen?”_

_“I have my suspicions.”_

_The Savior rolled her eyes at the evasive answer. If she had to bet, she’d guess Rumple. He frequented outside the manor and was always looking for a way to score an advantage. If he suspected Rahl would grant him some favor-_

_“Regina.”_

_The blonde frowned. “What about her?”_

_“She’s the Champion of this house. She’s has history with a lot of the staff. She’s friendly with the guards.”_

_The blonde caught herself before she laughed outright. Regina wasn’t friendly with anyone least of all the guards, but if Cora wanted to lead her where she wanted to go, who was she to stop her._

_“And as Champion, she does have contacts outside this house.”_

_The Savior shook her head. “There’s no reason for Regina to give up my son to Rahl.”_

_“Are you certain?” Cora asked, eyebrow arched._

_“Why would she?” She was actually curious what reason Cora would give._

_“To distract you, of course,” she said. “You’re a threat to her position, Savior, and a distracted fighter is usually a dead fighter.”_

_She just shook her head. “No, she wouldn’t do that to me.”_

_“Oh? Did you not almost die in the arena in your very next fight?” Cora asked. “Has she not provoked and paraded you around in the yard? Even after you kept her alive in the arena, against my wishes, I might add.”_

_The Savior eyed her silently._

_Cora waved her off. “Oh, I know what I asked you to do last time. I should have known better than to ask someone called the Savior to let someone die.” She paused. “But I wonder if you see now my side of things.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“As I’ve said before, Regina has been the house Champion for years, and as much as I hate to admit it, she has amassed some influence during that time.” She poured tea while she talked, only appearing to glance at the Savior. “I mean, look at you, for instance. She runs around riding every cock she wants to and yet she beats the man that dares to even look at you.” She took a sip of her drink. “As far as everyone down there is concerned, you are her pet.” She held up one finger. “A circumstance I tried to warn you about before.”_

_The Savior flexed against her shackles. “I am no one’s pet.”_

_“Regina would beg to differ.” She spread her hands wide. “I would not have it so.”_

_“What would you have me do?” she asked. “Let someone else try to kill her? Again?”_

_“No, if you want to be Champion, this time it would have to be you,” Cora conceded. “Do you think you’re up to the challenge?”_

_The Savior gave her reply true consideration. “I can defeat her…in a fair fight, I’ll win.”_

_“Well, Regina will never fight fair if that’s the case.”_

_“What?”_

_“No matter,” Cora tossed it off, “things cannot continue as they have. I’ll take care of Regina, and the next time you face her on the sands, it will be a fight to the death.”_

_The blonde frowned; she didn’t like that insinuation. She’d have to find a way to warn Regina. “When?”_

_Cora almost smiled. “Soon.”_

_“And Henry?”_

_“Once you’re the house Champion and I have the pledge of Rahl’s support, I’m sure I can arrange a deal for your boy to be brought to the house.”_

_The Savior dared to take a few steps closer to her. “And what happens, Domina, when you become tired of me as your Champion?”_

_“You have to be Champion first.” The Countess smirked. “Don’t disappoint me this time.”_

~*~*~*~~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Regina shouted a war cry loud enough to startle the Savior. The blonde brought her swords up to guard just in time to catch a brutal downward cut from the Champion. She bobbled her grip at the unexpected attack and Regina backed off in time for her to only drop one of her weapons. With a smirk, Regina kicked it away and forced her to back up. “Pay attention,” she hissed.

The Savior gave a subtle nod.

Charming looked down to find the discarded sword lay just in front of his boots.

“Okay, change of plans,” Regina hissed even as she spun her swords in her hands and advanced on the blonde.

She had planned for this event for years. She’d considered and discarded multiple scenarios. Now, on the fly, in the middle of a fight, she needed to construct a new plan. There had been one idea she’d always wanted to try but had considered it to be too fantastical. It might be their best chance.

The Savior was watching her closely, waiting for a sign of what they were going to do. When Regina stopped her pursuit and situated herself in front of Rahl’s guards, the blonde frowned. Regina raised both her swords. “There are no more _shields_ for you to hide behind, Savior. Attack me.”

If this was an actual fight, there was no way in hell the blonde would be drawn in by that kind of provocation. But this time, she charged.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*

**_ 3 Days before the Fight _ **

_Ruby dropped her plate on the table and slung her arm over Regina’s shoulders. “Hey, babe!”_

_Regina started, immediately trying to push the wolf off. “Ruby, what the-?”_

_Ruby tightened her grip, leaning in to place a sloppy kiss on the Champion’s cheek. As she did, she switched her plate of food with Regina’s. Regina stiffened at Ruby’s hissed words into her ear. “Be careful what you eat.”_

_The Champion leaned back just enough to see Ruby’s dark eyes briefly flash golden. She gave the slightest nod then pushed her back. “Off. Wolf.”_

_Ruby pouted and scooted back. Then she happily dug into the plate of food in front of her, taking a subtle sniff before putting it in her mouth. When she saw Regina regarding her own plate carefully, she pointed with her utensil. “Yours is good.” As more people went back to their own food she said more quietly, “I already checked.”_

_Regina took a tentative bite, most of her appetite having suddenly left her. “How?”_

_“Heightened senses,” Ruby said with a shrug._

_Although that’s not what she’d meant, it was good to know. “No, I mean how did you know?”_

_“Oh, well basically, Cora told blondie that she’d make sure blondie won your upcoming fight, fair or otherwise.” She finished cleaning her plate. “How else would she ensure she has a fight worthy to watch but it is also fixed?”_

_Regina pushed her unfinished plate away. Thankfully, she never ate that much anyway. “My mother knows no bounds.”_

_Ruby pulled her plate over to finish it off. “For the next three days, you eat with me, babe. If I’m not around, Granny can hook you up with something.”_

_“I’ll be fine,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she spotted Baelfire talking to Rumple._

_Two days later, the night before the fight, she found a small bag of dried peaches on her cot. It had been a childhood favorite treat of hers. One of her and her father’s secrets that they had kept from Cora, or so she had thought. It was bad enough her mother wanted her dead, but that she would pollute and use that memory against her made it all the worse._

_She boasted about the peaches the next morning at breakfast. At the Savior’s widening eyes, she subtly shook her head. No, she had not eaten any of them. Ruby had given them one sniff and pulled back with a grimace. At breakfast, Baelfire, with two black eyes, smirked at her, and she suddenly knew who had left the gift for her._

_Sitting with Ruby for all her meals had also meant she’d spent more time in Lily’s company. Surprisingly, she found she liked the younger woman. She was rude with a dark sense of humor and a running commentary that kept Regina amused so long as it wasn’t directed at her. “Lily, I think we need to make a change in our plans for tonight.”_

_The younger fighter looked up. Ruby looked interested too. “Oh yeah?”_

_“Baelfire.” He had been part of the group that included the two men that tried to kill her. “Be his shadow for the rest of the day.” Of course, Lily had been part of that group as well, but the Savior trusted her. “If it looks as though he’s going to betray us, take care of it.”_

_Lily looked over at the thief. She hadn’t liked him since riding in the back of a cramped wagon with him. “Happy to.”_

_*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*_

The Savior charged at Regina. Their swords clashed then Regina pivoted and flung her into two of the armored soldiers standing behind them. All three bodies went down in a heap.

The Savior scrambled up, grabbing one of their shields as she did so, and immediately blocking Regina’s next swing. The guards were laughing good naturedly, picking themselves up, and the guests on the balcony gasped and applauded as the Savior began to battle back with sword and shield.

Regina slowed her attacks and let her steps falter. She retreated until she had positioned the fight to precisely in front of the balcony. Ideally, she knew the blonde would want to be the one to protect Henry, but the Savior had the shield. It also helped that Regina was the lighter of the two of them.

“Make me fly.” Then she took several steps back.

The Savior’s eyes widened then she glanced up to the balcony just above her. She nodded, set her feet, and rapped her sword against the shield.

Regina yelled and charged towards the Savior.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!! You asked for it. The penultimate chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Either tonight or tomorrow, I'll follow up with an epilogue and start posting a 3-4 chapter story that is Regina's side/back story.

When Regina’s feet hit the Savior’s shield, the blonde pushed up, launching the Champion straight to the balcony. Regina’s sword slashed across two throats but missed both her mother and Rahl. “Henry, run!!”

Henry drove an elbow back straight into Rahl’s groin and then darted between the legs of the adults in the crowd that were all crowding away from the deranged gladiator hanging onto the balcony.

The Savior slammed both sword and shield into the nearest guards, taking out three of them, before standing tall in front of the gladiators. “KILL THEM ALL!!”

The soldiers and guards were slow to react to the sudden chaos. The gladiators were not. Charming picked up the Savior’s discarded sword and killed three men with one stroke. “Get their swords!”

Between his and the Savior’s kills, there were now eight armed gladiators. A crossbow bolt flew out from the darkened doorway leading to the medic’s area and one of Rahl’s soldiers fell. Granny emerged, notching another bolt. The gladiators armed and unarmed surged forward. All hell broke loose.

Regina made another slashing swing then managed to swing her legs over the railing and onto the balcony. Fire lit her mother’s eyes at the betrayal, but the woman was no fool and when Regina took down another two nobles, she too fled. Regina spun around searching, guards crowded towards the door, but Rahl was nowhere to be seen.

The Savior fought three men. “Charming! You have to get to the front door!”

He stabbed one man through the chest and broke another guard’s neck with his bare hand. That was part of the plan. He and Regina knew the house best. They could get to the entrance and block anyone from leaving. Except Regina was now on the balcony fighting.

“Ruby!” He yelled for the wolf and saw her blood dripping maw. “We have to block their exit.”

The wolf bounded towards the stairs; Charming ran after her ignoring the fights around him. Lily met him at the stairs, her eyes glowing gold. He and two wolves could hold down the exit.

The Savior split a guard from neck to groin. “Robin! You and Merida get that armory open!” She ripped her blade through the gut of another guard; she caught his sword before it dropped into the dirt. She saw a red-soaked silver hook tear out the throat of a soldier.

“Savior, behind you!” Killian yelled.

She turned in time to see a soldier raise his sword only to suddenly stutter and fall to the ground with a thrown sword sticking out of his back. Coolly, as though it were any normal day, Mulan walked forward, withdrew the sword, and nodded. The fight in the yard was dwindling. The Savior nodded to both of them, and they ran for the stairs.

Regina tore through the guards on the balcony; the limited space hindered them and helped her. She acquired a second sword and stepped over bodies. The captain stood between her and the entrance to the house. There was no love lost between the two of them; she raised her swords. A small paring knife held by a slender hand jabbed into his neck from the side. Yelling in pain and rage, he spun to knock away his attacker, a meaty fist making contact, but his exposed side was all Regina needed. Her blades slid through his rib cage and into his heart.

Regina stepped over his fallen body, tucked one sword beneath her arm, and helped Snow back to her feet. For a moment, their gazes locked, then Regina nodded curtly. “Find another weapon to protect yourself and stay out of harm’s way.”

Gladiators swarmed into the main house like a pack of wolves. The nobles, most in shock, moved around in a herd that scurried this way and that, and like sheep, they were slaughtered. The smart ones, the ones that had enough sense to run to the door, were met with teeth and fur. Steel and claws cut down those that made it past Ruby. Lily was not fully turned but her claws ripped throats out as easily as Ruby’s fangs. Charming took no pleasure in the task, but he would see it done.

The Savior stalked through the house flanked by Killian and Mulan. The cries of pain and fear were quieting, punctuated by new bursts as pockets of cowering fools were found. The blonde was beginning to worry when she still hadn’t seen Regina or Henry, but that worry was quickly shoved away when they stepped into the main hall. Rahl stood at the center of a line of eight soldiers.

Nine against three was not great odds. They readied their weapons. Rahl pointed at her. “Did you really think you would kill me, coward?”

In the blink of an eye, two soldiers, one on either end of Rahl's line, dropped to their knees. Arrows protruded from their chests. Merida and Robin emerged from behind two columns; they each notched another arrow. Seven against five was much better odds. Rather than wait, the soldiers charged forward. Killian laughed and readied his hook.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Regina walked quietly into her mother’s office. It was the woman’s stronghold. If she couldn’t escape, she would likely flee here. The room was still and empty; it did not smell of blood or smoke like everywhere else in the house. The desk still remained untouched; its papers still in order on its surface. Regina didn’t like it. She stood frozen in the middle of the room, listening as the sounds of death from the rest of the house filtered in. A slight breeze blew through the windows, moving the curtains and wall coverings. She pivoted slowly on her foot, turning as though to leave.

A young voice called out. “Look out!”

Regina was shocked to see Henry pop up from the side of the desk. He cocked his arm back and threw; a dagger flew past her, hitting Rumple as he emerged from the shadows behind her. He staggered back and Regina moved forward to finish the job. He pulled the knife from his shoulder, his bloody hand holding it up as though he would attack her with it.

She batted it away and where the dagger had missed, she slid her blade deep into his chest. He dropped the dagger, his bloodied hand gripping at her arm. “You were…to be…mine.”

“Oh, please.” She pulled the sword out and let him drop to the floor. “You were always playing a game, Rumple, and you just lost.”

“Well, I haven’t.” Regina spun around to see her mother. Cora held Henry in front of her with a knife to his throat. “Not yet.”

~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Savior was aware there was fighting going on around her. Cognitively she knew that Killian and Mulan were fighting more than one soldier each. Merida and Robin may have been fighting, too, or they may have gone off to help somewhere that their bows were more useful. The only thing she acknowledged, however, was the man in front of her. The General. The one that took away her freedom; the one that threatened her son’s life. He’d tried to have her killed. He’d failed. He’d fail again today.

They advanced on one another and circled. She pointed the bloody end of her sword at him. “The last time we met, I offered you my life. You chose to threaten my son instead.” She slashed swiftly at him, taking him by surprise and scoring a gash across the front of his leathers. “You should have accepted my offer.”

He raised his sword. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

Rahl had been trained all of his life in the ways of combat. One did not become a general in their realm without making their way up through the ranks, defeating warriors that thought themselves better than him. The blonde was nothing more than a peasant that had been practically living in the wild before his army had offered her true training. He’d watched her fight in the arena, seen her fight earlier in the yard. She was nothing more than a well-trained, feral beast that needed to finally be put down.

She saw no reason to draw out the fight. They’d been flying towards this moment ever since they met each other. He’d dodged his fate for a while, but now it was within her grasp. One sword was no match for two. His feelings of being better than her had no purchase on the vengeance she owed him. She attacked.

It was a flurry of steel. She slashed, he blocked, she cut with her free sword. She drew first blood. He retreated through the hall, ducking around columns, forcing her to give chase. They stumbled over bodies and destroyed relics; they slipped in spilled blood. She battled through his defenses, pushed away other gladiators that tried to jump in. He bled from multiple wounds. He threw a punch that landed, staggering her for a step. He tried to press his singular small advantage. Her sword was waiting.

The look on Rahl’s face was one of pure shock. She twisted the blade that she’d sunk through his chest. He spit up blood as she forced him to his knees. “This proves...nothing,” he coughed. “You’ll still…die. As nothing.”

She yanked the sword free from his chest. “I was never nothing.” She raised the sword over her head. “And I won’t be the one dying today.”

The sharp tip of her weapon drove through his collarbone until the hilt was seated against his shoulder. She let go and his body fell over on its side. A resounding cheer went up and she staggered back, her surroundings rushing back in. All of the surviving, blood splattered gladiators were gathered in a half-circle, cheering. They were clearly the only ones still alive. She looked around the gathering, saw Snow held protectively under Charming’s arm; she looked around again. “Where’s Regina?”

~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Let him go, Mother.”

Cora scoffed, pulling Henry tighter against her. “I think not.”

Regina studied her mother’s face. She was impressed; the woman still looked utterly put together if a little wild around the eyes. There had been a time when she would have done anything for the woman’s approval. Sadly, despite everything Cora had done to her over the years, there was still a little bit of that young girl inside her. The girl that desperately wanted her mother’s love.

“Now you listen to me, you foolish girl,” Cora snapped. “You are going to escort me safely out of this house. You, and you alone, will ride with me and the boy to the edge of the kingdom. Then and only then will I let you have the boy.”

It was Regina’s turn to scoff. “And then what? We go our separate ways?”

“I go to the kingdom and raise the alarm,” she sneered. “You flee like the rebellious, murdering slave that you are and hope that you get far enough fast enough that the soldiers I send after you don’t catch you.”

That sounded more like the mother she knew. She glanced down at Henry to check on the boy; he looked utterly relaxed. “Henry, everything is going to be okay.”

“I know.” He grinned at her and for the first time she saw the resemblance to his mother. “Mom always taught me to wait for the opportune moment.”

Regina felt her eyebrows crawl up her forehead. The kid was not at all what she had expected.

“Well, what are you waiting for, kid?”

Regina and Cora’s heads snapped around to see the Savior standing in the doorway. Their distraction was all the boy needed. He yanked Cora’s arm down away from his throat; he tucked his head down, twisted his shoulders and slipped his head out of her control. As he backed away, Cora found two razor sharp blades skimming her neck.

“You lose, Cora,” the blonde said. “Drop the knife.”

The small blade clattered to the floor, but Cora refused to cower. She continued to look down at them as though they were beneath her. “What now?”

“Give us a minute alone.” Regina felt the Savior’s eyes look upon her but she never took her gaze off her mother. Slowly, the other sword slid away from Cora’s neck, causing the older woman to hiss as it left behind a thin line of blood.

“We’ll be right outside.”

Regina saw Henry dart out from behind the desk and vaguely heard he and his mother reunite. It was not something she would ever experience. After tonight, both of her parents would be dead.

“Regina, I just want to say,” Cora began, surprising her, “that, I’m sorry.”

The words were wholly unexpected and uncharacteristic. It made her wary. Her sword didn’t waver, but she stepped back, giving herself distance. “For what, exactly?”

“I love you.”

Regina scoffed.

“No, it’s true,” Cora protested. “I’ve just…I’ve always shown it in all the wrong ways.”

“You enslaved me.”

“I wanted to make you stronger.”

“You wanted me broken.”

“Receptive,” Cora said so genuinely it was almost believable. “I didn’t want you to reject me as you always had. I thought-.”

“You thought I’d come running back to you. You thought, after Daniel, I’d beg you to take me back.” So, there was no apology, not really. No remorse for Daniel or for trying to kill her. “You are the most manipulative bitch, and I’m sorry, too.”

“For what, dear?”

She looked appeased as though she was actually due an apology. Regina shook her head. “Without you, Mother, I would have never become the person I am today.”

Regina slid her sword straight through her mother’s chest. When Cora gasped and fell to her knees, Regina went with her, supporting her even as she forced the blade deeper. Bloodied fingertips caressed the side of Regina’s face. It was the warmest her mother’s touch had ever been.

She stayed with her mother, long after her hand dropped away and she’d closed her eyes. Regina didn’t know how much time had passed. The next thing she was aware of was the Savior’s hand on her shoulder.

“We need to go.”

Regina looked up and saw the blonde offering her a hand up. She nodded and lowered her mother to the floor, leaving the sword embedded in her chest. She gratefully accepted the help to her feet. “It’s done, then?”

The blonde nodded. “Everyone is scouring the house now for supplies and readying the horses in the stables. We’ve left no one alive.”

A burden as heavy as a mountain was lifted from Regina’s shoulders and she dropped her head to the Savior’s chest. “We did it.” Strong arms wrapped around her and she felt the kiss on top of her head. She started to laugh. “I can’t believe you launched me into the air.”

“I can’t believe it worked,” the blonde admitted. She tightened her hold and then released the Champion. “We really do need to leave though if we want to make it to the mountains.”

Regina nodded and did a quick swipe under her eyes, smearing tears through blood and grime on her face. “And Henry is okay?”

“He’s fine,” she reassured. “He’s been training with me since he was five. He could have easily fought better than half the nobles.”

Regina laughed again, shaking her head. “Go ahead and head down, ready our horses. My mother stashed away gold in here. I want to find it first.”

The blonde nodded and headed for the door.

“Savior, wait.”

She was pulled back into Regina’s arms and their mouths met in a hard, possessive kiss. The blood of their enemies stained their bodies and it was no time for romance, but she heard the sentiment loud and clear. When they broke for air, the blonde tucked Regina’s hair back and said, “You do know that’s not actually my name, right?”

Regina smirked. “I assumed as much, but for now it’s who they need you to be.” She nodded towards the doors and beyond. “And it is who you are. You came into my world and saved my life.”

“No more than you saved mine.”

Regina gave her another quick kiss. “When we are across the mountains, when we are free, tell me your name.” She pushed her away and waited until she was almost at the door before adding, “After all, I want to know what name I will be calling out in ecstasy for the rest of my days.”

The blonde almost ran into the door frame. She half glared at Regina. “As if I needed more incentive.”

“When we are free,” Regina promised.

“When we are free.”


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two quick notes: I've gotten really busy IRL and haven't had a whole lot of time. What time I did have, I assumed you'd rather I put towards updating so I've been remiss on replying to your comments, but I've read every one of them and I am so grateful. Thank you so much for your support of this story.  
> Second, I intended this epilogue to be a nice soft ending that tied things up and let you know how our favorite ladies were doing in life. This chapter's guest star, without asking me first, decided to take the end and drive it straight off another cliff, so I apologize for that. If you prefer neat endings, maybe just choose to believe the previous chapter is where the story ended.

** Epilogue **

Regina was deep in the study of the kingdom’s ledgers when there was a knock at her office door. She absently called for the visitor to enter as she made a notation to mark her place. When she looked up, she beamed at the young man standing before her in his squire gear. “Henry.” She glanced towards the window and the sunny day outside. “What are you doing up here on a day like this?”

“General Mattias had a few meetings today and I have a training session with Ma later this afternoon.” He pulled out a piece of parchment folded intricately into a bird shape. “This arrived for you as I was entering the castle grounds.”

Regina recognized the parchment folds as some that the former queen used for sending messages by the wind. She opened it and read the short message. She clutched the paper against her chest and looked out the window.

“Mom?” Henry asked. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” she answered truthfully. “Do you have time to go down and fetch your mother for me? She’s going to want to see this.” 

He frowned but nodded. “Sure, I’ll be right back.”

It had been six years since she and the other gladiators had fled the ludus. The group she and the Savior had led made it safely to the mountains. The trek across the range had been arduous, some turned back to try a different path, but after two months, their group emerged into a different wilderness. They crossed the border into the lands of Arendelle, a kingdom that did not condone slavery.

They hadn’t made it very far before they’d been set upon by natives protecting their land. Regina had been shocked to find the princess she had known as a girl emerge as their leader. She’d expected and hoped to find her ruling as queen. It seemed that Regina’s life had not been the only one to track differently than had been expected. Luckily, Elsa still remembered her fondly and assured her that her sister, recently named Queen Anna, would accept their group as refugees and welcome them - provided they behaved themselves.

Most of their group were too wild to stick around Arendelle for long. Some of the fighters, like Mulan and Merida, left Arendelle to return to their homelands. Killian and a handful of others struck out for sea and the last Regina had heard, they were wreaking havoc as one of the most dangerous pirate crews to ever set sail. Ruby and Lily had lingered longer than others, but eventually they too, set out to find their own adventure. Granny, however, had set up shop as a healer in town, so Regina felt sure that she’d see her two wolf friends again.

Ironically, Snow and Charming were the only other permanent residents from their old life. Snow helped teach the young ones at the local school and upon the old constable’s retirement, Charming was now respected for keeping the local peace. The Savior, a former gladiator of legendary renown, spent her days training recruits for Arendelle’s army.

It amused Regina to no end that her wife had somehow become the focal point of all the legends surrounding their escape from the ludus. The blonde warrior that had led a bloody uprising against injustice was still whispered about in exaggerated stories that passed from pub to pub. Regina suspected that Killian’s crew helped fan the flames of the legend as they traveled from port to port.

At the most recent state dinner, Regina had listened to a nobleman at the Queen’s table tell the tale of the blonde Savior currently leading an army of thousands across the lands. He’d been utterly clueless that the woman he spoke of was seated across from him. While Queen Anna had managed to conceal her laughter during the story, her husband had excused himself from the table followed quickly by the Savior herself.

As for Regina, her upbringing and subsequent years had made her oddly suited for life in the royal court. The sisters were not naïve; they both knew Arendelle had enemies. At Elsa’s urging, Queen Anna named Regina to the position of advisor; officially, she reviewed strategies and finances, paying close attention to detail for many projects. But she also had another more important role, Regina quietly served as the queen’s bodyguard. In her first year with the queen, she easily thwarted an attempt by the Southern Isles to kidnap Anna when four men thought they could easily overpower two women. To her credit, Regina had only needed to take care of three of the men. The Queen herself knocked one of the attackers out with a frying pan, a trick she said she learned from a cousin.

There had been three other significant attempts thwarted in the first two years of Anna’s rule, but time had eventually settled everyone and Anna was proving to be a fantastic leader. Arendelle was thriving despite the chaos churning across other parts of the realm. Chaos that Regina felt was riding straight towards their door.

The door to her office swung open. “Regina?” The Savior strode across the room straight to her wife. “Are you all right? Henry said you needed me.”

She felt slightly ridiculous for it, but as soon as she saw her wife she calmed. She brushed dust off her wife’s training leathers as soon as the woman was close enough. Clearly, she had pulled her away from her duties. “I’m fine; I may have overreacted.”

The Savior caught her hand and stilled it against her chest. She had never known Regina to overreact to anything. “What happened?”

Regina held up the note. “Elsa sent a note.”

The blonde read the note aloud. “A dragon is on her way to see you.” She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Do you remember when I told you about Mallory?” She waited for her wife to nod. “In the arena, she was known as the Dragon.”

Eyebrows raced up the blonde’s forehead. “And she’s coming here?”

“Apparently.” Regina plucked the note back. She wished Elsa had bothered to mention when she had seen her. “My guess is Elsa let her pass through the forest.”

“So, she’ll probably be here soon.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “And you have no idea why?”

Regina shook her head. “I haven’t spoken to her since she left the ludus a free woman.” A single blast of a horn sounded outside the castle. No other sound or announcement followed. “Apparently, they’ve spotted her approaching.”

“Well, I guess we should go down and greet her,” the Savior said.

Regina looked one more time at the note before dropping it on the table. “Remind me to devise a faster way for Elsa to send messages.”

As they waited in the yard, Regina twisted the ring on her finger. Her wife caught her hand in hers stilling the motion. Well, it was easy for her to be calm. She wasn’t the one that had practically tried to kill the woman that was currently arriving at their doorstep the last time they’d seen each other. But that had been a lifetime ago. A life filled with blood and death that Regina had put behind her. The only question that remained was whether or not Mallory had done the same.

As the large gates opened, allowing entrance to the single rider, Regina straightened. She hoped Mallory was not there to fight, but if she was, Regina would be ready. Her first sight of the woman made Regina think she was timeless. Mallory’s appearance had not changed in the years between them. Regina watched closely as the blonde seated upon the great stallion scanned the people scattered throughout the yard. When the crystal blue gaze met brown, Mallory stilled. Regina tensed when she swung gracefully down from her horse, and she saw her wife’s hand drift to the sword at her side as the statuesque blonde began to stride towards them.

Mallory stopped just short of the small gathering. Her gaze took in the blonde woman and the young man standing at Regina’s side; she noticed the protective posture of both of them and silently approved. Then she focused on Regina. “It’s been a long time, Little One.”

Regina felt her wife twitch at the nickname and knew she’d hear about that later. “I’d like to say your arrival is a pleasant surprise.”

Mallory’s gaze flicked across her audience once more. “Is it not?”

“State your business with Regina and then we’ll decide.”

Regina cleared her throat. “Mallory, please allow me to introduce my wife. This is-”

“The Savior,” Mallory said, inclining her head. “I’ve heard the stories. Impressive. And…” she hesitated, “I hope they are true.”

“Why?” Regina asked.

She eyed the blonde. “Because I’m trying to find my daughter.”

“You have a daughter?” Regina asked.

Mallory nodded. “She was taken from me long before I met you, but I was recently told by a drunken pirate that a woman matching her description was with you upon your escape from the ludus.”

“What’s her name?” the Savior asked although she had a fairly good idea of who Mallory was looking for.

“I called her Lilith.”

Regina felt relief surge through her. It wasn’t anything as bad as she’d thought and she’d be able to give Mallory some good news. “Lily isn’t in Arendelle right now, but we can get word to her.”

“She’s not here?” Mallory asked, looking stricken.

“No, but-”

“Then she is in danger,” Mallory said. “We all are.”

“What do you mean?” Regina asked, feeling the knot in her stomach begin to tighten.

“With the death of Queen Ravenna, George has taken power.” Mallory pushed her sleeve up, showing off her faded brand. “He has decreed that all former slaves bearing the mark of the House of Hearts shall be put to death.” She let her sleeve drop. “He blames all of you for the current uprising.”

“Uprising?” the Savior questioned.

Mallory glanced between them. “Slaves everywhere are revolting against their masters. You started a revolution when you escaped from Cora.”

“That was years ago.”

“These things take time,” she frowned. “Does this mean, you are not leading this war?”

Regina exchanged a glance with her wife then shook her head. “We've heard stories of unrest, but we thought...”

"Why did you think we were leading this uprising?"

Mallory gauged the blonde warrior. “Because everyone says the person leading the former slaves is known as The Savior of the Realm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little nod to the famous scene(s) of everyone claiming to be Spartacus.
> 
> If you want to know more about Mallory or how Regina became a gladiator, check out the other work in this series! 
> 
> Thanks again for your support! I write because I enjoy it, but having readers sure makes it even more fun!


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